Fig. 1

For case No. 3 in the observation group, the patient (female, 45 years old) was admitted to the hospital via the outpatient department with “spinal tuberculosis,” mainly due to “Low back pain with fever and sweating for 2 years, aggravated with walking restriction for 2 months”. The patient was diagnosed with HIV infection 8 years ago and was treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The patient received a diagnosis of tuberculosis 10 years ago and was treated for tuberculosis in specialized hospitals before coming to our hospital. The HIV-RNA viral load of the patient was not detected; CD4⁺T lymphocyte count, 266 cells/ul. Preoperative CT showed L2-3 vertebral destruction with cavity and sequestrum (a), preoperative MRIs showed L2-3 vertebral destruction with abscess, hypointense, hyperintense, hyperintense and hyperintense on T1WI, T2WI, STIR and enhanced MRI images, respectively (b, c), X-ray of postoperative one year showed interbody fusion is in a good position (d, e), HE staining (×40) showed caseous necrosis, necrotic area structure without cell and nucleus (f), Acid-fast staining (×40, as shown in the red circle) showed tuberculosis bacilli (g)