Tubercular Osteomyelitis of Navicular Bone: A Rare Site for Bone Tuberculosis

• Published in: Journal of orthopaedic case reports 2024, Vol.14 (3), p.114-118
• Main Authors: Gain, Amartya, Dhammi, Ish K, Jain, Anil K, Arora, Rajesh, Saurav, Shivam, Bhargava, Aayush
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2250-0685
• DOI: 10.13107/jocr.2024.v14.i03.4310

IntroductionTuberculosis (TB) is a global public health problem, endemic to India. Osteoarticular TB uncommonly presents in the foot, navicular osteomyelitis is an extremely rare entity.Case ReportWe report a rare case of navicular osteomyelitis caused by TB in a 37-year-old man who presented to OPD with swelling and dull aching pain over the dorsum of his left foot. A radiograph of the foot showed a lytic lesion in the navicular bone. Further investigations in the form of aspiration cytology, cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test, and acid-fast bacilli culture confirmed TB. Category-1 anti-tubercular therapy was started immediately and the patient was treated conservatively. Four drugs (HRZE) were given for 2 months and 3 drugs (HRE) for 9 months, after which the patient stopped his medications on his own. Radiographs and CEMRI at 14-month follow-up showed a healed lesion.ConclusionThis case illustrates an exceptional location of osteoarticular TB and shows that Navicular TB can be treated conservatively with near-complete function and recovery if diagnosed early.