title: Costovertebral joint erosion in ankylosing spondylitis.
abstract: We describe a patient with ankylosing spondylitis who had severe pain in the thoracic spine area owing to a destructive arthropathy of a costovertebral joint. A computed tomographic scan revealed severe osteolysis of the head of the right eleventh rib, with hypertrophic sclerotic arthropathy of the joint as the source of the patient's pain. Costovertebral arthropathy should be considered in ankylosing spondylitis patients with severe thoracic pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Section of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans 70112, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Le
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Biundo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aprill
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Deiparine
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed