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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Radiol Imaging 2023; 33(02): 230-231
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1759482
Brief Report

Calcific Discitis Seems to be a Common Incidental Finding in Adults

Johannes Gossner
1   Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Evangelisches Krankenhaus Göttingen- Weende, An der Lutter 24, Göttingen, Germany
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Abstract

Calcific discitis seems to be a rare cause of back pain in adults. Imaging shows a calcification of the nucleus pulposus with extension through the endplates on computed tomography. This can be accompanied by bone marrow edema on magnetic resonance imaging. In a retrospective review of 150 patients, 4 cases of calcific discitis were found (2.8%). None of the patients reported about back pain. Therefore, it seems that symptomatic cases of calcific discitis are a rare occurrence in contrast to the quite frequent incidental finding of asymptomatic cases on imaging. Knowledge of the various imaging appearances of calcific discitis is necessary for radiologists, because especially in acute cases with substantial bone marrow edema, this benign entity may be confused with infectious spondylodiscitis or malignancy.

Keywords

spinal imaging - calcific discitis - prevalence - incidental finding


Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
07. Dezember 2022

© 2022. Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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