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Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 1972;54:284-296.
© 1972 by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc

Intervertebral Disc-Space Inflammation in Children

PHILLIP G. SPIEGEL M.D.1, KENNETH W. KENGLA M.D.1, ALVIN S. ISAACSON M.D.1, and JOHN C. WILSON JR. M.D.1

1 From the Department of Orthopedics, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Los Angeles

1. Forty-five cases of disc-space inflammation in children are presented.

2. The average age at onset was six and one-half years with an average duration of symptoms of four and one-half weeks. Back and hip pain with refusal to walk were the most prominent symptoms. An elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate was present in 91 per cent. Disc-space narrowing usually in the lumbar area was the first roentgenographic sign. Treatment consisted of immobilization and antibiotics if a positive culture was obtained.

3. Fifteen biopsies of the disc space were performed yielding four positive bacteriological cultures and eight specimens showing inflammation.

4. Long-term follow-up showed that the patients were relatively asymptomatic. Forty-two per cent of the patients had a mild scoliosis with minimum rotation; nearly 25 per cent had partial or almost complete interbody ankylosis.

5. A review of the literature and the present series suggests an infectious etiology for disc-space inflammation in children.


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