Open AccessKümmell’s disease — uncommon or underreported disease: A clinicopathological account of a case and review of literature
Author(s) -
Manish Ranjan,
Anita Mahadevan,
Chandrajit Prasad,
Samapth Sommana,
Shankar Susarla Krishna
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of neurosciences in rural practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.331
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 0976-3147
pISSN - 0976-3155
DOI - 10.4103/0976-3147.120234
Subject(s) - medicine , disease , tuberculosis , radiological weapon , rare disease , pathological , disease entity , dilemma , work up , medical literature , surgery , pathology , philosophy , epistemology
Kümmell's disease is a rare form of vertebral body osteonecrosis, which develops as a delayed post-traumatic event. It is infrequently reported in literature and to the best of our knowledge, has not been reported from India. We describe the clinical, radiological, and pathological features of a case occurring in a 60-year-old man and relevant brief review of the literature of this rare disease. Its close resemblance to more commonly occurring bony tuberculosis poses a diagnostic dilemma particularly in developing country like India, where tuberculosis is endemic. Awareness of this entity, though rare, is essential to avoid unnecessary diagnostic work up and treatment.