Which triad is associated with TB?

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Which triad is associated with TB?

Tuberculous arthritis shows a distinctive radiographic pattern called the Phemister triad. This triad reflects how the infection affects bone near a joint and how cartilage is lost over time. The first feature is juxta-articular osteopenia, meaning the bone just around the joint becomes less dense early on. Next, there are marginal erosions at the joint margins from the inflammatory destruction. Finally, there is gradual narrowing of the joint space as the cartilage wears away. Together, these signs point to TB as the cause and help differentiate it from other joint diseases that don’t produce this specific combination of near-joint bone loss, marginal erosions, and slow joint-space narrowing. The other named triads belong to different conditions, so they don’t describe this TB pattern.

Tuberculous arthritis shows a distinctive radiographic pattern called the Phemister triad. This triad reflects how the infection affects bone near a joint and how cartilage is lost over time. The first feature is juxta-articular osteopenia, meaning the bone just around the joint becomes less dense early on. Next, there are marginal erosions at the joint margins from the inflammatory destruction. Finally, there is gradual narrowing of the joint space as the cartilage wears away. Together, these signs point to TB as the cause and help differentiate it from other joint diseases that don’t produce this specific combination of near-joint bone loss, marginal erosions, and slow joint-space narrowing.

The other named triads belong to different conditions, so they don’t describe this TB pattern.

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