Intervertebral Disc-Space Inflammation in Children

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Abstract
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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