Cryptococcosis of thoracic vertebra simulating tuberculosis: diagnosis by fine-needle aspiration biopsy cytology--a case report.

A rare case of cryptococcosis of sixth thoracic vertebra (T6) along with pulmonary involvement in an old diabetic patient is presented. The infection resulted in lytic lesion of T6 vertebra and girdle pain. A computerized tomographic (CT) guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) cytology was performed, which showed encapsulated fungal spores of Cryptococcus neoformans with granulomatous reaction, later confirmed by fungal culture.