[Thermovision diagnosis of tuberculosis of the spine and large joints].

Abstract

A comprehensive study was carried out in 95 patients with different forms and stages of osteoarticular tuberculosis by using the thermographic diagnostic technique. The patients' age was 17 to 76 years. The study was undertaken to define the capacities of thermography for differential diagnosis of osteoarticular tuberculosis from noninflammatory disease of the skeleton and to evaluate the efficiency of treatment in phthisiorthopedic patients. The study has provided evidence for that thermography has great capacities to diagnose a specific inflammatory skeleton lesion and to evaluate the efficiency of treatment, which allows one not to carry out expensive and radiation load-carrying X-ray studies in some cases.