Intervertebral Disc Calcification In Children Research Articles

Is conservative treatment a good choice for pediatric intervertebral disc calcification in children?

Paediatric intervertebral disc calcification (PIDC) is a rare disease, and its aetiology remains unknown. This study aimed to analyse the characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with PIDC. After applying the exclusion and inclusion criteria, 159 children diagnosed with PIDC were analysed at our hospital between January 2010 and November 2020. Patients' demographic and clinical data were collected, such as sex, pain, duration time, physical examination, white blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and radiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging findings. Patients were followed up for at least 6months, and radiography or symptoms were evaluated. Fisher's exact test or χ2-test was used for statistical analyses. One hundred and fifty-nine patients were ultimately followed up with for about 12.5 ± 5.8months. There were 103 male and 56 female, with an average age of 6.08 ± 2.62years (2months to 12years). A total of 109 patients had only one PIDC, 29 patients had two PIDCs, and 21 patients had multiple PIDCs. Thirty patients were found incidentally and were asymptomatic. A total of 106 patients had neck torticollis. Sixteen patients had IDC herniations, fifteen patients had posterior longitudinal ligament calcification, two patients had anterior longitudinal ligament calcification, and 17 patients had herniation of the vertebral canal. All patients underwent conservative treatment, and none underwent surgery. All patients' symptoms resolved after either collar fixation or neck traction. PIDC can be treated conservatively, even when accompanied by herniation, longitudinal ligament calcification, or clinical neck symptoms. IV.

Vesicle consisted of calcified core and intervening turbid fluid, a possible composition of calcification in intervertebral disc calcification in children

Intervertebral disc calcification (IDC) is one of the uncommon diseases in children. Normally, it is a benign lesion which is self-limited and has an excellent prognosis under conservative treatments and symptomatic support. Surgical treatment is usually carried out only for patients with progressive neurological deterioration in order to prevent the spinal cord from being irreversible injured. After conservative treatments for months or years, the calcification reduces gradually or even disappears through imaging. Until now, the etiology remains unclear and the mechanism for resorption of IDC is still unknown. Surgery was performed on an IDC patient with progressive neurological deterioration, it was found that the high density calcification region on CT is actually not “hard” but more like an enlarged cell. In such a cell, a calcified nuclear was surrounded by limewater-like liquid inside a large membrane. This study aims to unveil the mechanism for the resorption of IDC. We hypothesize that the high density calcification on imaging is a vesicle consisted of calcified core and intervening turbid fluid. Furthermore, the increase or diminution of calcification is caused by the production or resorption of inflammatory fluid around the calcified core in lesion disc. This could explain the mechanism of IDC resorption in children.

Intervertebral disc calcification in children: Case description and review of relevant literature

SummaryBackground:Intervertebral disc calcification is a rare condition in children; in most cases, it is asymptomatic and therefore not diagnosed.Case Reports:In our study, we present a case of idiopathic intervertebral disc calcification within the cervical segment, at the level of C2/C3 and C4/C5 vertebrae in a 5-year-old girl with torticollis. Basic neurological examination supplemented by X-ray examination was performed, showing calcification within the cervical segment at the level of C2/C3 and C4/C5 vertebrae.Conclusions:In order to complement the diagnostics, a CT scan of the cervical spine was performed; the scan confirmed the diagnosis and revealed additional calcification of the anterior longitudinal ligament at the level of C4/C5 vertebrae.

Conservative Treatment for Cervical Radiculopathy Due to Extensive Foraminal Disc Calcification in Children

Intervertebral disc calcification is a rare but well-recognized condition in children1-4. Intervertebral disc calcification mostly involves the cervical spine, and the most common symptom is neck pain, which usually disappears in a few days after symptomatic treatment, with subsequent disappearance of calcification on imaging studies within a few weeks to months5-7. Intervertebral disc calcification is a self-limiting condition with an excellent prognosis, and it rarely results in a neurologic deficit8-11. Therefore, surgical treatment is reserved for rare cases presenting with severe radicular pain, muscle weakness, or myelopathy due to nerve-root or spinal cord compression12-14. Surgery has been performed because of progressive neurologic deficits, including myelopathy, in several cases of intervertebral disc calcification12,15-18, with reports that the outcomes after surgical treatment were more favorable than those after conservative treatment13,19,20. Cervical radiculopathy may occur when disc calcification involves the nerve root. In 2004, Dai et al. reported on a series of seventeen children with cervical disc calcification, five of whom had neurologic symptoms involving the upper extremities, who were treated with conservative therapy1. However, the authors did not provide a description of foraminal stenosis due to intervertebral disc calcification or examine imaging findings in the intravertebral foramen. Furthermore, to our knowledge, detailed imaging findings in children after successful conservative treatment of cervical radicular pain with motor weakness caused by extensive disc calcification in the intervertebral foramen have not been reported in the English-language literature. Many orthopaedic surgeons are not convinced of the value of conservative therapy for intervertebral disc calcification in children who have severe radiculopathy with motor weakness. This concern arises from cases such as that of a nine-year-old boy with …

Cervical Intervertebral Disc Calcification in Children -A Case Report-

Cervical Intervertebral Disc Calcification in Children -A Case Report-

Thoracolumbar intervertebral disc calcifications in an 8-year-old boy: case report and review of the literature

An 8-year-old boy presented himself with a nontraumatic acute onset of thoracolumbar pain with an antalgic scoliosis. His past medical history did not reveal any infectious disorder. The back pain kept him from sleep and sports. Imaging revealed calcified intervertebral discs from thoracic intervertebral disc 10-11 to lumbar disc 2-3, with compression of the 11th thoracic root. Conservative treatment with analgesia, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and rest reduced the symptoms within a few days. The boy became asymptomatic within 2 weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging changes diminished in 2 months. Intervertebral disc calcification in children is a rare benign disorder which mostly affects the cervical spine. This is the first case, to our knowledge, of symptomatic intervertebral disc calcification involving the lumbar spine up to lumbar disc 2-3.

Cervical intervertebral disc calcification in children; report of three cases

Cervical intervertebral disc calcification in children; report of three cases

Intervertebral disc calcification in children

Symptomatic cervical intervertebral disc calcification in children presents with characteristic signs and symptoms, and usually has a benign, self-limiting and predictable course. The radiological images of the spine likewise have typical appearances, with a recognisable pattern and following a predetermined course. A case report of this uncommon condition in an 8-year-old boy illustrates most of the clinical and radiological findings in this entity.

Herniation of Calcified Cervical Intervertebral Disc Causes Dissociated Motor Loss in a Child

Herniation of the calcified nucleus pulposus is a rare complication of intervertebral disc calcification in children. Surgical intervention is rarely indicated in the majority of such cases. This paper reports a 12-year-old boy with a calcified nucleus pulposus at C7-T1 which had ruptured into the spinal canal, causing dissociated motor loss. Anterior discectomy and fusion were performed and the patient's muscle weakness markedly improved after surgery.

Childhood intervertebral disc calcification

Two cases of intervertebral disc calcification in children are reported. A 13-year-old boy presented with right subscapular pain radiating into the axilla with radiographic demonstration of multiple calcified intervertebral discs and a herniated fragment of calcified nucleus pulposus at T2-3. His condition improved with conservative therapy, and follow-up radiographic evaluation revealed resolution of the herniated calcified disc material. A second case of multiple intervertebral disc calcifications was observed incidentally in an asymptomatic 6-year-old boy. The clinical presentation of this condition, its incidence, natural history, proposed etiologies, treatment options, and outcome are reviewed.

小児の頚椎椎間板石灰化症の二例

Two cases of cervical intervertebral disc calcification in children are presented.Case 1: A 13-year-old boy landed on the back of his head and complained of neck pain from the next day. Physical examination revealed only tenderness around spinal process of C7. There were no abnormal neurological signs. Cervical spine radiographs identified calcification at the C4-C5 interspace.Symptom resolved spontaneously in a few days and the calcification disappeared 22 months later.Case 2: A 10-year-old boy visited our clinic complaining of a stiff neck and neck pain without trauma. Positive physical findings were limitation of neck motion and radiating pain toward left scapula region. Cervical spine radiograps identified calcification at the C6-C7 interspace.Three weeks later he was completely free of symptoms with antiinflammatory drug and calcification showed partial resolution.

Intervertebral disc calcification in children

Calcification of cervical intervertebral discs in children is due to an uncommon, but distinct, disease of unknown etiology. Signs and symptoms of nerve root or spinal cord compression are unusual and acute symptoms are followed by a benign course and spontaneous recovery. We describe a 5-year-old patient with symptomatic cervical disc calcification and discuss the relevant clinical and radiographic features.

Intervertebral disc calcification syndromes in children.

One hundred and twenty-seven cases of intervertebral disc calcification in children, including 11 previously unreported cases, have been analysed. A distinction is made between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, whose age, sex and spinal distributions of the calcifications have been shown to differ. Radiologically detectable protrusions and later resorption of the calcifications are common events in symptomatic children, but are unrecorded in asymptomatic children. The spinal distribution of paediatric calcifications is quite different to that of adult and canine calcifications of the nucleus pulposus.

Cervical Intervertebral-Disc Calcification in Children

In seven new cases of cervical intervertebral-disc calcification of unknown etiology, all but one patient (Case 4) had an acute episode of pain in the neck, limitation of motion, and torticollis. The similarity to calcific tendinitis is suggested. Trauma or infection may initiate the symptomatic episode. Three of our patients also had calcified material in the prevertebral tissues; this did not alter the favorable prognosis. Very rapid regression of the calcification was noted in most of our patients. This syndrome is probably a much more common entity than the few reports in the literature would suggest.