Case Report
A 27-year-old male carpenter presented with left
gluteal swelling of one month’s duration. He had loss
of appetite and discomfort in the gluteal region,
especially while sitting. The swelling had enlarged
gradually, and the condition was not associated with
backache and fever. There was no history of
pulmonary tuberculosis.
On clinical examination, a fluctuating mass was
found in the left-side gluteal region. The size of the
mass was 8-12 cm. There were no signs of neurologic
deficit, and no discharging sinus. The most prominent
part of the swelling was in the posterior inferior
aspect of left gluteal region and the skin over that
part was indurated over an area of 2 x 3cm. The
patient’s temperature was 38°C on initial
examination. Laboratory investigations showed an
ESR of 105 mm/hour and Hb of 11 g/100 ml. Chest
radiograph was normal.
Radiogram of the pelvis and hip showed normal
hip and sacroiliac joints. Radiogram of lumbosacral
spine was also normal. There was neither collapse of
vertebral bodies nor diminution of disc space. End
plates were intact in the radiogram (Figure1).
Greenish yellow pus was aspirated by fine needle
(without fluoroscopy control) from the gluteal region
and microscopy showed epithelial cells surrounded
by lymphocytes in the configuration of a tubercle
(Figure 2).
We suspected vertebral tuberculosis and primary
gluteal tuberculous abscess. Computerized
tomography (CT) study of the lumbar region with
and without contrast enhancement was done. CT
showed destruction of the anterior two thirds of the
left side of the fifth lumbar vertebra with a
cavitations opening into the paravertebral tissues in
the posterior aspect (Figure 3). Contrast CT showed
left gluteal abscess (Figure 4). Aerobic culture of the
operative specimen showed no growth. LowensteinJensen
medium yielded growth of Mycobacterium
tuberculosis. A diagnosis of tuberculosis of the fifth
lumbar vertebral body of anterior type with left
secondary gluteal abscess was made.