[Paediatric intervertebral calcifications: two cases report and review of the literature].
Discal calcification in childhood is rare. Calcifications are occasionally discovered during routine examinations. Generally, the calcification process is confined to the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc.


METHODS
We describe the cases of two children, five and seven years old who presented with acute low back pain. The patients underwent a CT scan, which demonstrated a posterolateral calcified disc hernia.


CONCLUSIONS
Only a few cases with evidence of calcification of the herniated portion of the disc have been previously described. The clinical picture is composed of pain and functional limitation. The radiographic picture consists of the association of morphological and structural alterations of vertebral bodies adjacent to one or more disc calcifications usually centrally sited, sometimes associated with anterior or posterior herniations. The surgical decompression of the nerve root could be necessary.
Harvet
G
G
Service de pédiatrie, hôpital Jean-Verdier, assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, avenue du 14-Juillet, 93143 Bondy, France.
De Pontual
L
L
Neven
B
B
Mary
P
P
Letamendia Richard
E
E
Nathanson
M
M
Sellier
N
N
Gaudelus
J
J
D001416:Back Pain / Q000209:etiology; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*