title: Thoracolumbar intervertebral disc calcifications in an 8-year-old boy: case report and review of the literature.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Musculoskeletal Science, Division of Orthopedics-Pediatric Orthopedics, University Hospital Pellenberg, Weligerveld 1, Pellenberg, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nouchka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Spapens
authors.forename: Carine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wouters
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moens
mesh_terms: D001416:Back Pain / Q000209:etiology; D002114:Calcinosis; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000473:pathology*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000209:etiology; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae