Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis of the spine in children--characteristics from a high burden setting.

<bold>Background: </bold>Few studies have described children with spinal multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Treatment involves surgery and medical care with long courses of drug therapy. <bold>Methods: </bold>Hospital and laboratory records at Brooklyn Chest and Tygerberg Children's Hospitals, Cape Town, South Africa, were analysed (January 2004 until December 2010) searching for children treated for MDR spinal TB. <bold>Results: </bold>Of the 11 children identified, 4 were excluded. Of the 7 remaining, 5 were boys; median age: 8 years, median delay to treatment initiation: 36 weeks. Among them one child died, five have completed treatment and one is near the end of therapy. Medications were well-tolerated and although two of the surviving children have spinal deformity, none have significant neurological deficit. <bold>Conclusions: </bold>The diagnosis of spinal MDR-TB is often delayed in children, frequently leading to advanced disease and severe vertebral damage. Children tolerate therapy well and, once identified, it is a condition that can be treated successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]