title: Tophaceous gout of the lumbar spine mimicking infectious spondylodiscitis and epidural abscess: MR imaging findings.
abstract: We report a case of surgically proven tophaceous gout of the lumbar spine at the L5-S1 level that mimicked infectious spondylodiscitis and epidural abscess on magnetic resonance (MR) images in a 65-year-old woman. The spinal tophi were hypointense on T1-weighted images; focally and strongly hyperintense on T2-weighted images; and heterogeneously, marginally enhancing on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images. The aim of this report is to emphasize the importance of considering this disease entity in the differential diagnosis of an epidural mass in a patient with chronic back pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Buddhist Tzu-Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pao-Sheng
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: Jui-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Shin-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shinn-Zong
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D015299:Discitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D020802:Epidural Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006073:Gout / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000209:etiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000209:etiology; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery