vertebral malacoplakia

abstract malacoplakia is a rare chronic inflammatory disease associated with infection and immunosuppression, and very few occurrences have been reported in the bone. the authors describe the case of a 22-year-old woman with paraplegia and urinary and fecal incontinence whose thoracic spine magnetic resonance imaging suggested a tumoral or extensive inflammatory process in the body of the 8th, 9th and 10th thoracic vertebrae. on histology, however, the area turned out to be malacoplakia of bone. although microbiologic cultures and polymerase chain reaction were negative for mycobacterium tuberculosis, the lesion demonstrated regression following treatment with anti-tb regimen which had been started because of clinical suspicion.