Study Design:Bibliometric review of the literature.Objective:This bibliometric analysis aims to give an overview of the most influential academic literature written on spinal tuberculosis.Methods:All databases included in the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge were searched for the most influential publications in spinal tuberculosis. The most cited articles published between 1950 and 2015, with the main focus on orthopedic surgery, were identified using a multistep approach, and a total of 100 articles were included. The publications were then analyzed in this bibliometric analysis.Results:The number of citations ranged from 243 to 36, with an average of 77.11. The articles were published in 34 different journals, and the studies were conducted in 20 different countries. The top 3 countries, India, the United States, and China, published a total of 51% (n = 51) of all articles. Low-burden countries produced 60% (n = 60) of all articles in our list. African centers produced only 4% (n = 4) of all included articles.Conclusions:Indian and Chinese researchers dominate evidence in spinal tuberculosis. Other areas with high disease burden, such as Africa, do not feature. Most publications are retrospective studies with a low level of evidence.

Pediatric tuberculosis (TB) is known to have a wide range of presentations, and if left untreated, primary TB may lead to bone and joint involvement. The literature on this topic is very scarce, and no comprehensive systematic review or meta-analysis of the current knowledge is available to date. The aim of this study is to identify and analyze the literature with highest impact based on citation rate analysis. All databases of the Thomson and Reuters "Web of Knowledge" were used to conduct our search of the 100 most cited articles on this topic published between 1950 and 2014. The included articles were analyzed in terms of citation rate, age, study type, area of research, level of evidence (LOE), and more. All 100 articles were published between 1967 and 2011 in 51 different journals. The average citation rate was 74.26, all articles were on average 23.1 years, and most studies were originated from India (n = 22), followed by the USA (n = 21). The majority of publications were review articles (42%), described clinical course (n = 48), and assigned an LOE IV (44%). TB infection is a high burden disease in low-income countries but widely studied in a fi rst world setup. This research gap between the geographic distribution of disease burden and origin of publications could initiate possibilities for high-burden countries to share their opinion. Their experience is of a high level of importance and relevance which furthermore is necessary to create a more accurate picture of pediatric musculoskeletal TB burden in literature.

Background In settings with limited access to specialist services, differentiating septic arthritis-a surgical emergency-from non-infectious atraumatic arthropathy in paediatric patients is challenging, especially in a setting with a high burden of tuberculosis (TB). We aimed to investigate the aetiologies of swollen, painful joints in an urban setting in South Africa and determine how clinical and laboratory findings varied with diagnosis. Patients and methods A retrospective review of patients aged 12 or younger presenting to a paediatric hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, with atraumatic swollen, painful joints was conducted over a two year period from 2013 to 2015. Children were excluded if they did not have tissue culture or analysis conducted at our facility. Aetiology was classified as non-infectious, TB septic arthritis, or pyogenic arthritis from other bacterial causes. Results One hundred and four children met inclusion criteria. Arthritis was classified as noninfectious in 43 (41%), TB in 15 (14%), and pyogenic in 40 (38%), with six (6%) patients never receiving a final diagnosis. Mean C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and white blood cell count (WCC) were all significantly higher in pyogenic infectious arthritis compared with TB and non-infectious arthritis. There were no significant differences in these parameters between non-infectious and TB arthritis. Using cut-point analysis, thresholds were identified predictive of the presence of pyogenic arthritis versus TB or non-infectious arthritis; these included the presence of fever, CRP > 50 mg/L, ESR > 65 mm/h and WCC > 12x10 9 /L. The absence of all of these criteria resulted in a negative predictive value of 100% for pyogenic infection; the presence of three to four criteria resulted in a positive predictive value of 71%. Conclusions Despite insignificant differences in their clinical presentation compared with non-infectious arthidities, 15% of children were diagnosed with tissue-confirmed TB infection. Predictive values of clinical criteria are reduced in our population due to elevated levels of inflammatory markers in all patients. Synovial biopsy to rule out TB is recommended in all patients in a high-burden setting given clinical similarity to non-infectious aetiologies.