Tuberculous spondylitis, also known as Pott's disease, is due to infection of the spine by mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) leading to vertebral body and inter-vertebral disc destruction. It is the most common form of musculoskeletal tuberculosis most frequently affecting the thoracolumbar spine and is commoner in young people. Onset of this condition is insidious and its clinical presentation is non specific. However, Pott's disease may be complicated by neurologic deficits including paraplegia or even quadriplegia, with huge health, economic and psychological burden. Following is a case report of Pott's disease involving the cervical spine in a 33-year old farmer presenting unusually with paraplegia and a negative Mantoux test. It is reported because this very uncommon condition is highly treatable, and there is need for a raised index of suspicion in order to diagnose this condition early, thus limiting its complications. The role of MRI in diagnosis of Pott's disease is also highlighted.
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) incidence continues to rise in many parts of the world with increasing fatality. At the same time, tuberculosis (TB) has been identified as the leading cause of death amongst all infectious diseases globally. Routine screening of clients visiting health facilities can help to prevent the spread of these diseases. Aim: To assess the relationship between the practice of facility-based routine tuberculosis screening and routine screening for COVID-19. Methodology: Using a Snowball technique, a cross-sectional online survey was carried out during the national lockdown from 5 July to 5 August 2020. The target population for this survey was health care workers from the different health facilities across Nigeria. An online semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview healthcare workers to identify their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 and the practice of routine TB screening. Descriptive analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson's Chi-square test was used for statistical comparative analysis. Results: This shows that 53.9% of healthcare workers did not practice routine TB screening while 46.9% did not practice routine COVID-19 screening. Respondents who practiced routine TB screening were found to be more likely to practice routine COVID-19 screening (p < 0.001).
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