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

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Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Musculoskeletal Science, Division of Orthopedics—Pediatric Orthopedics, University Hospital Pellenberg, Weligerveld 1, 3212, Pellenberg, Belgium

    Nouchka Spapens & Pierre Moens

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Division Pediatric Immunology and Rheumatology, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Carine Wouters

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  1. Nouchka Spapens
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  2. Carine Wouters
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  3. Pierre Moens
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Correspondence to Pierre Moens.

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Spapens, N., Wouters, C. & Moens, P. Thoracolumbar intervertebral disc calcifications in an 8-year-old boy: case report and review of the literature. Eur J Pediatr 169, 577–580 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-009-1076-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-009-1076-z

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