Musculoskeletal tuberculosis revisited: bone and joint tuberculosis in Austria

Background To prevent further spread of the disease and secondary deformity, musculoskeletal tuberculosis (TB) remains a challenge in terms of early diagnosis and treatment. This study gives an overview on TB trends in Austria (pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB) (A) and analyses a retrospective series of musculoskeletal TB cases diagnosed and treated at an Austrian tertiary centre (B). Methods (A) We analysed data obtained from the Austrian national TB registry to provide information on TB patients´ demographics and manifestation sites between 1995 and 2019. (B) Furthermore, we performed an observational study of all patients with a confirmed diagnosis of musculoskeletal TB who were admitted to the Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, Medical University of Graz (2005-2019). Demographic, diagnostic, clinical and follow-up data were retrieved from the medical records. Results (A) From 1995 to 2019, a significant linear reduction in overall Austrian tuberculosis incidence rates occurred (p Conclusion Musculoskeletal TB should be considered if untypical joint infections or nonspecific bone lesions occur in younger patients with a migration background or in patients with specific risk factors.