Multifocal vertebral tuberculosis with the involvement of the ribs case report.

A case of multifocal vertebral tuberculosis with lytic involvement of multiple ribs and cold abscess is presented. The lungs were normal and the radiographic appearance of the skeletal lesions mimicked secondary metastasis of unknown primary site, malignant lymphoma and multiple myeloma. HIV serology was negative. Tuberculosis should be high in the differential diagnosis of multiple destructive bone lesions especially in patients from regions where tuberculosis is endemic. The patient's response to standard antituberculous treatment was favorable. Medline data base search revealed that multifocal osteoarticular tuberculosis is not associated with HIV infection unlike other forms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis.