Tuberculous spondylitis as a complication of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy

J Urol. 1993 Mar;149(3):584-7. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)36155-4.

Abstract

We report a case of tuberculous spondylitis following intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) instillation. A 90-year-old male physician living in South Africa received an uncomplicated 6-week course of intravesical BCG (Japanese 172 strain) for high grade superficial bladder carcinoma. He experienced a sudden onset of debilitating lower back pain 16 months following this treatment. A lytic lesion involving the anterior T11 and T12 vertebral bodies was diagnosed and subsequently biopsied. An acid-fast organism was isolated after 3 weeks of incubation and was confirmed through deoxyribonucleic acid probe hybridization as a mycobacterium. High performance liquid chromatography analysis speciated the organism as Mycobacterium bovis BCG, proving that it was acquired through the intravesical therapy.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • BCG Vaccine / adverse effects*
  • BCG Vaccine / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Spondylitis / microbiology*
  • Thoracic Vertebrae*
  • Tuberculosis, Spinal / microbiology*
  • Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / therapy

Substances

  • BCG Vaccine