Recent advances on diagnosis and treatment of osteoid osteoma

Abstract

Osteoid osteoma (OO) is a benign bony lesion with a characteristic radiologic feature of x-ray focus (nidus). The most common symptom indicating diagnosis is strong nocturnal pain that eases with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). Computed tomography (CT) is a method of choice for diagnosing and localizing the tumor. Osteoid osteoma can regress spontaneously, thus conservative treatment is one of the methods of choice. In the past open resection surgery had been a standard management of osteoid osteoma until radiofrequency ablation (RFA) was discovered in the early 1990s. Nowadays, there are a few minimally invasive treatment techniques that are used. CT-guided radiofrequency ablation is considered a gold standard technique these days. Many cases occur with late diagnosis, and delayed treatment despite of characteristic symptoms. Therefore, it is crucial to be familiar with the clinical features of osteoid osteoma, proper diagnostic patterns, and treatment schemes.