Table 1.
Clinical characteristics and assessment for therapeutic response of the patients
| Patient 1 | Patient 2 | Patient 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical characteristics | |||
| Age/Sex | 43/Women | 64/Women | 48/Women |
| Initial ESR (mm/h)/CRP (mg/dL) | 30/0.7 | 51/0.536 | 115/4.16 |
| Lesion |
Spondylitis on L2–3 Para- and intra-vertebral abscesses |
Spondylitis on C1–2 Totally eroded odontoid process Para-vertebral abscesses |
Spondylitis on T8–9 Para-vertebral abscesses |
| Drug-resistance | (−) | INH (+) on pus from fistula at biopsy site | (−) |
| HIV serology | (−) | (−) | (−) |
| SUVmax of PET/MRI 1 | 9.75 (at four-month of anti-TB medication) | 7.88 (at diagnosis) | 6.67 (at diagnosis) |
| Assessment for therapeutic response |
Controlled Discontinuation of anti-TB medication |
Uncontrolled Continuation of anti-TB medication |
Uncontrolled Continuation of anti-TB medication |
| Timing | 12-month after anti-TB medication (two-month with INH, RFP, PZA, and EMB/ ten-month with INH, RFP, and EMB) | 11.5-month after anti-TB medication (two-month with INH, RFP, PZA, and EMB/ nine-month with RFP and EMB) | 12-month after anti-TB medication (two-month with INH, RFP, PZA, and EMB/ ten-month with INH, RFP, and EMB) |
| Clinical state | Improved | Improved |
Back pain Recurrent development of fistula at biopsy site |
| Evidence | Clinical improvement | AFB and PCR (+) on surgical biopsy | AFB and PCR (+) on pus from fistula |
| SUVmax of PET/MRI 2 | 1.83 | 4.14 | 7.02 |
ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate, CRP: C-reactive protein, HIV: human immunodeficiency virus, SUVmax: maximum standardized uptake value, PET/MRI: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging, TB: tuberculosis, INH: isoniazid, RFP: rifampin, PZA: pyrazinamide, EMB: ethambutol, AFB: acid-fast bacilli, PCR: polymerase chain reaction