Objective: To summarize the clinical, radiological characteristics, and prognosis of infectious sacroiliitis in children. Methods: A case-control study was conducted, including 12 cases of infectious sacroiliitis diagnosed in the Rheumatology and Immunology Department of the Children's Hospital affiliated with the Capital Institute of Pediatrics from June 2018 to June 2023. These cases comprised the case group. Concurrently, 28 cases of pediatric idiopathic arthritis involving the sacroiliac joint in the same department served as the control group. Basic patient information, clinical features, laboratory parameters, and clinical treatment outcomes for both groups were collected and analyzed. Independent sample t-tests and chi-squared tests were used for inter-group comparisons. Results: Among the 12 cases in the case group, there were 5 males and 7 females, with a disease duration of 0.8 (0.5, 1.2) months. Nine patients presented with fever, and 1 patient had limping gait. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 positivity was observed in 1 case, and there was no family history of ankylosing spondylitis. In the control group of 28 cases, there were 19 males and 9 females, with a disease duration of 7.0 (3.0, 17.0) months. One patient (4%) had fever, and 14 cases (50%) exhibited limping gait. HLA-B27 positivity was found in 18 cases (64%), and 18 cases (64%) had a family history of ankylosing spondylitis. The case group had higher white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil ratio, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, as well as a higher proportion of unilateral involvement on magnetic resonance imaging and bone destruction on CT compared to the control group ((11.1±6.2)×10⁹ vs. (7.3±2.3)×10⁹/L, 0.64±0.10 vs. 0.55±0.12, 72 (34, 86) vs. 18 (5, 41) mm/1 h, 24.6 (10.1, 67.3) mg/L vs. 3.6 (0.8, 15.0) mg/L, 11/12 vs. 36% (10/28), 9/12 vs. 11% (3/28), t=2.90, 3.07, Z=-2.94, -3.28, χ²=10.55, 16.53, all P<0.05). Conclusions: Pediatric infectious sacroiliitis often presents as unilateral involvement with a short disease history. Elevated WBC, CRP, and ESR, as well as a high rate of bone destruction, are also common characteristics.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Child ; Sacroiliitis/diagnostic imaging* ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing/diagnosis* ; Case-Control Studies ; Sacroiliac Joint/diagnostic imaging* ; Radiography ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Fever

Humans ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing/diagnosis* ; Delayed Diagnosis ; East Asian People ; Asian People

Child ; Humans ; Tuberculosis, Spinal/diagnosis* ; Spondylitis/diagnosis* ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; Suppuration/diagnosis* ; Diagnostic Errors

Brucella ; Brucellosis/diagnosis* ; Cervical Vertebrae/diagnostic imaging* ; Epidural Abscess ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Quadriplegia ; Spondylitis/diagnostic imaging*

Identification of certain abnormalities of the chest wall can be extremely helpful in correctly diagnosing a number of syndromic conditions and systemic diseases. Additionally, chest wall abnormalities may sometimes constitute diagnoses by themselves. In the present pictorial essay, we review a number of such conditions and provide illustrative cases that were retrospectively identified from our clinical imaging database. These include pentalogy of Cantrell, Klippel-Feil syndrome, cleidocranial dysplasia, Poland syndrome, osteopetrosis, neurofibromatosis type 1, Marfan syndrome, Gardner syndrome, systemic sclerosis, relapsing polychondritis, polymyositis/dermatomyositis, ankylosing spondylitis, hyperparathyroidism, rickets, sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, tuberculosis, septic arthritis of the sternoclavicular joint, elastofibroma dorsi, and sternal dehiscence.
Anemia, Sickle Cell ; Arthritis, Infectious ; Cleidocranial Dysplasia ; Diagnosis ; Gardner Syndrome ; Hyperparathyroidism ; Klippel-Feil Syndrome ; Marfan Syndrome ; Neurofibromatosis 1 ; Osteopetrosis ; Pentalogy of Cantrell ; Poland Syndrome ; Polychondritis, Relapsing ; Retrospective Studies ; Rickets ; Scleroderma, Systemic ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing ; Sternoclavicular Joint ; Thalassemia ; Thoracic Wall ; Tuberculosis

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case analyses.PURPOSE: To investigate the causes, diagnosis, and management of esophageal perforation, depending on the time of diagnosis.OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: To date, few studies have addressed these issues.METHODS: A total of seven patients were included in this study. The patients were classified into three groups based on esophageal perforation diagnosis time: intraoperative (diagnosed during surgery), perioperative (diagnosed within 30 days postoperatively), and delayed (diagnosed >30 days postoperatively) groups.RESULTS: In the intraoperative group (N=2), infectious spondylitis was the main cause of esophageal perforation. Anterior plate and screw removal, followed by posterior instrumentation, was performed. The injured esophagus was managed by omentum flap repair in one patient and primary repair in one patient. In the perioperative group (N=2), revision surgery for infection and metal failure were the main causes of esophageal perforation. In both cases, food residue was drained on the third postoperative day. The injured esophagus was managed conservatively. In the delayed group (N=3), chronic irritation caused by metal failure was the main cause of esophageal perforation. In all patients, there was no associated infection. The anterior instrumentation was removed, and the two patients were treated by primary repair, and one patient was treated using sternocleidomastoid muscle flap. One patient in intraoperative group died of sepsis.CONCLUSIONS: The main cause of intraoperative esophageal perforation was esophageal adhesions because of infectious spondylitis. However, perioperative and delayed esophageal perforations were caused by chronic irritation because of metal failure. Anterior plate and screw removal was necessary, and posterior instrumentation and fusion may be considered, depending on the fusion status.
Diagnosis ; Esophageal Perforation ; Esophagus ; Humans ; Omentum ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Spine ; Spondylitis

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. PURPOSE: To report the prevalence of patients with multidrug-resistant (MDR) tubercular spondylodiscitis and their outcomes. Additionally, to assess the role of Xpert MTB/RIF assay in early detection of MDR tuberculosis. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: MDR tuberculosis is increasing globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly recommended Xpert MTB/RIF assay for early detection of tuberculosis. METHODS: From 2006 to 2015, a retrospective study was conducted on patients treated for MDR tuberculosis of the spine. Only patients whose diagnosis was confirmed using either culture and/or the Xpert MTB/RIF assay were included. Diagnostic method, treatment regimen, time taken to initiate second-line antituberculosis treatment (ATT), drug-related complications, and cost of medications were analyzed. All patients with MDR were treated according to the WHO recommendations for 2 years. The outcome parameters analyzed included clinical, biochemical, and radiological criteria to assess healing status. RESULTS: From 2006 to 2015, a total of 730 patients were treated for tubercular spondylodiscitis. Of those, 36 had MDR tubercular spondylitis (prevalence, 4.9%), and three had extremely drug resistant tubercular spondylitis (prevalence, 0.4%). In this study, 30 patients, with a mean age of 29 years and a mean post-treatment follow-up of 24 months, were enrolled. The majority (77%) had secondary MDR, 17 (56%) underwent surgery, and 26 (87%) completed treatment for 2 years and were healed. Drug-related complications (33%) included ototoxicity, hypothyroidism, and hyperpigmentation of the skin. The average time taken for initiation of second line ATT for MDR patients with Xpert MTB/RIF assay as the diagnostic tool was 18 days, when compared to patients for whom the assay was not available which was 243 days. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of MDR tubercular spondylodiscitis was 4.9%. In total, 87% of patients were healed with adequate treatment. The sensitivity and specificity of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay to detect MDR was 100% and 92.3%, respectively.
Diagnosis ; Discitis ; Early Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation ; Hypothyroidism ; Methods ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Skin ; Spine ; Spondylitis ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant ; World Health Organization

OBJECTIVE: We attempted to discover that Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) has a comprehensive relationship with congestive heart failure and death.METHODS: We used a nationwide database managed by the Korean National Health Insurance Service from 2010 to 2014. Twelve thousand nine hundred eighty-eight patients with a diagnosis of AS and 64940 age- and sex- stratified matching subjects without AS were enrolled in the AS and control groups. Incidence probabilities of 6 years congestive heart failure and death in each group were calculated. The Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to estimate the hazard ratio. We divided the AS and control groups into subgroups according to sex, age, income, and comorbidities.RESULTS: During the follow-up period, 102 patients (0.79%) in the AS group and 201 patients (0.32%) in the control group developed congestive heart failure (p < ;0.0001). In addition, 211 (1.62%) subjects in the AS group died during the follow-up period compared to 639 (0.98%) subjects in the control group (p < ;0.0001). The adjusted hazard ratio of congestive heart failure and death in the AS group was 2.28 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.80–2.89) and 1.66 (95% CI, 1.42–1.95), respectively. The hazard ratios of congestive heart failure and death were significantly increased in all of the subgroups.CONCLUSION: The incidence rates of congestive heart failure and death were increased in AS patients.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cohort Studies ; Comorbidity ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; National Health Programs ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing

Conservative therapy with appropriate antibiotics is essential for most patients with infectious spondylitis. Although most antibiotics do not cause problems if it used properly and serious side effects are rare, side effects can occur with any class of drugs and adverse reactions of antibiotics can range from mild allergic reactions to serious and fulminant adverse events. These side effects are also extremely variable from patient to patient and from antibiotic to antibiotic. A side effect of antibiotics may paradoxically increase inflammatory marker levels. Here, the author presents two cases of antibiotic-induced increase in inflammatory markers in cured infectious spondylitis. The patients were successfully treated after stopping the antibiotic therapy. The differential diagnosis between antibiotic side effects and infection should be considered very carefully because the treatment is completely different. Although the exact mechanisms underlying successful treatment without antibiotics are unclear, we should consider the side effects of antibiotics when following inflammatory markers during treatment of infectious spondylitis.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Inflammation ; Spondylitis

BACKGROUND: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a seronegative inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis. The prevalence of PsA varies across different countries, and a few previous studies have reported that 9~17% of Korean patients with psoriasis present with PsA. However, limited data are available regarding the clinical features and treatment of Korean patients with PsA. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical features of Korean patients with PsA and the treatment modalities used in the real-world setting. METHODS: This study was a retrospective single-center study. We analyzed 101 Korean patients who had been diagnosed with PsA based on the Classification Criteria for Psoriatic Arthritis (CASPAR). We reviewed the patients' medical records, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score, body surface area (BSA), manifestation pattern of PsA, and treatment course. RESULTS: Our study included 101 patients. The mean age was 50.7 years. The mean PASI score was 8.6, and the mean BSA was 11.5%. Spondylitis was the most common manifestation (40.6%). In most patients, psoriatic lesions preceded the onset of PsA (57.4%). Psoriasis and PsA occurred simultaneously in 32.7%, and PsA developed prior to psoriasis in 9.9% of patients. The administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was the most commonly utilized treatment strategy (82.2%), followed by the use of methotrexate and sulfasalazine. Twenty-two patients were treated with biologics with favorable efficacy. CONCLUSION: Spondylitis was the most common manifestation in patients. NSAIDs, methotrexate and sulfasalazine were the drugs most commonly used to treat Korean patients with PsA. Dermatologists should be mindful of this entity, and during history taking at the patient's initial visit, those with psoriasis should be asked, "Do you have any pain or swelling of joints?" to ensure early diagnosis of PsA.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Arthritis ; Arthritis, Psoriatic* ; Biological Products ; Body Surface Area ; Classification ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Methotrexate ; Prevalence ; Psoriasis ; Retrospective Studies* ; Spondylitis ; Sulfasalazine