Tuberculous Tenosynovitis

Ethymologically a tenosynovitis is an inflammation of a tendon and its synovial sheath. It is caused by "Mycobacterium tuberculosis". Tuberculous tenosynovitis is a rare form representing only 5% of bone and joint tuberculosis. Tuberculous tenosynovitis may result in bone and tendon destructions, in particular when the treatment is delayed. The diagnosis of tuberculous tenosynovitis remains difficult because of insidious and aspecific presentation. Functional prognosis may be committed without adequate treatment. In this review of the literature, we describe the epidemiology, the anatomy, the pathogenesis, the clinical features, the histological, bacteriological and radiological findings, the diagnosis and the treatment modalities of tuberculous tenosynovitis. The aim of this study is that isolated tenosynovitis should be known by infectious diseases specialists, rheumatologists and hand surgeons as a possible extrapulmonary tuberculosis presentation, to perform adequate sampling and diagnosis.