Microbiological Diagnosis of Spinal Tuberculosis

Timely diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis is imperative to initiate appropriate therapy and to prevent long-term sequalae-like deformities. The clinical and radiological features have several mimickers, and microbiological evidence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis or its products form the basis of definite diagnosis. The chapter concisely presents all the aspects associated with microbiological diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis ranging from the desired samples that should be sent for investigation, pros and cons of conventional techniques of staining and culture, and the modalities targeting the protein or nucleic acid of M. tuberculosis. Among the nucleic acid amplification tests, which now serve as important first-line tests for diagnosis, a brief description of each ranging from conventional polymerase chain reaction to isothermal amplification to commercial systems is presented in this chapter. Finally, brief summary of gene sequencing and methods for testing drug susceptibility for spinal tuberculosis are also discussed.