Tuberculous arthritis of the knee joint mimicking pigmented villonodular synovitis.

Abstract

UNLABELLED:

Tuberculous arthritis is difficult to diagnose early because of its atypical insidious clinical manifestations and non-specific imaging findings. Specifically, monoarticular tuberculosis of the knee may mimic pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS). The present report describes a young patient with tuberculous arthritis of the knee. Proper diagnosis was delayed due to magnetic resonance imaging findings, such as hemosiderin deposits and a nodular mass around the knee joint, suggesting the diffuse type of PVNS. These findings suggest that the first step in the diagnosis of tuberculous knee arthritis is to have a high index of suspicion.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:

IV.

• Authors: Dae-Hee Lee, Dong-Ki Lee, Soon-Hyuck Lee, Jong-Hoon Park, Chul-Hwan Kim, Seung-Beom Han
• Journal: Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA (Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc) Vol. 20 Issue 5 Pg. 937-40 (May 2012) ISSN: 1433-7347 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 21912886 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Topics

• Arthritis (microbiology, pathology)
• Arthroscopy
• Diagnosis, Differential
• Humans
• Knee Joint (microbiology, pathology)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Male
• Synovitis, Pigmented Villonodular (pathology)
• Tuberculosis
• Tuberculosis, Osteoarticular (diagnosis, pathology)
• Young Adult