Tuberculous spine has high incidence in children. Many cases of the tuberculous spine are complicated by deformities of the spine and disability such as paraplegia, cardio-plumonary dysfunction, and also early death.
There are now several reports on the pulmonary dysfunction due to spinal deformities such as scoliosis and kyphoscoliosis, but there are few papers on the pulmonary function of patients with the tuberculous spine and kyphosis in children.
This article is a report on the study of chest excursion in 70 kyphotic children and of the pulmonary function in 10 cases of severe kyphotic patients with collapsing tuberculous spine. The following results are obtained through the study:
1) Chest excursion was evidently diminished in the cases of moderate and severe thoracic, and severe lumbar involvement:- The remainders were nearly within normal limits.
2) The study revealed that the chest excursion and the radiological kyphosis has a very gradually sloped negative correlation in thoracic involvement.
3) Pulmonary function in the severe kyphotics who had the curve over 50 degree were revealed as follows;
a) Over 50 percent of the cases had diminished vital capacity. That is, over-all average was 67.7 percent of normal capacity. Especially inspiratory reserve volume was diminished, it was 63.7 percent of normal.
Maximum breathing capacity was 68.8 percent of normal.
b) Tidal volume, timed vital capacity, minute ventilation rate and 02 consumption were within normal limits or nearly normal.
|