Childhood discitis in a regional children's hospital. 2012

Simon J Spencer, and Neil I L Wilson
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Dalnair Street, Yorkhill, Glasgow, UK. simon.spencer@nhs.net

Childhood discitis is rare, can be difficult to diagnose and it is unclear whether it is an infective or simply an inflammatory process. A departmental database search of 46 434 patients identified 12 cases from 1990-2008. The mean time to diagnosis from onset was 22 days. The children usually present with altered gait, a normal infection screen (temperature, white cell count, C-reactive protein, blood cultures) and radiographic loss of intervertebral disc height. Antibiotics were given in 11 cases and but no immobilization was used. Symptoms resolved by a mean of 6.5 weeks with no recurrence. This study highlights the unusual features of this rare condition which should be confirmed with MRI scanning.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007223 Infant A child between 1 and 23 months of age. Infants
D007403 Intervertebral Disc Any of the 23 plates of fibrocartilage found between the bodies of adjacent VERTEBRAE. Disk, Intervertebral,Intervertebral Disk,Disc, Intervertebral,Discs, Intervertebral,Disks, Intervertebral,Intervertebral Discs,Intervertebral Disks
D007596 Joints Also known as articulations, these are points of connection between the ends of certain separate bones, or where the borders of other bones are juxtaposed. Joint
D008279 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Non-invasive method of demonstrating internal anatomy based on the principle that atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field absorb pulses of radiofrequency energy and emit them as radiowaves which can be reconstructed into computerized images. The concept includes proton spin tomographic techniques. Chemical Shift Imaging,MR Tomography,MRI Scans,MRI, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Image,Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Functional,Magnetization Transfer Contrast Imaging,NMR Imaging,NMR Tomography,Tomography, NMR,Tomography, Proton Spin,fMRI,Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging,Imaging, Chemical Shift,Proton Spin Tomography,Spin Echo Imaging,Steady-State Free Precession MRI,Tomography, MR,Zeugmatography,Chemical Shift Imagings,Echo Imaging, Spin,Echo Imagings, Spin,Functional MRI,Functional MRIs,Image, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, NMR,Imaging, Spin Echo,Imagings, Chemical Shift,Imagings, Spin Echo,MRI Scan,MRIs, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Images,Resonance Image, Magnetic,Scan, MRI,Scans, MRI,Shift Imaging, Chemical,Shift Imagings, Chemical,Spin Echo Imagings,Steady State Free Precession MRI
D008297 Male Males
D011859 Radiography Examination of any part of the body for diagnostic purposes by means of X-RAYS or GAMMA RAYS, recording the image on a sensitized surface (such as photographic film). Radiology, Diagnostic X-Ray,Roentgenography,X-Ray, Diagnostic,Diagnostic X-Ray,Diagnostic X-Ray Radiology,X-Ray Radiology, Diagnostic,Diagnostic X Ray,Diagnostic X Ray Radiology,Diagnostic X-Rays,Radiology, Diagnostic X Ray,X Ray Radiology, Diagnostic,X Ray, Diagnostic,X-Rays, Diagnostic
D012074 Remission Induction Therapeutic act or process that initiates a response to a complete or partial remission level. Induction of Remission,Induction, Remission,Inductions, Remission,Remission Inductions
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260 Female Females

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