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Neurologic abnormalities in children presenting with diskitis
Moshe Nussinovitch1, Nir Sokolover, Benjamin Volovitz
1Department of Pediatrics "C", Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Petach Tikvah, 49202, Israel.
Insights
Neurologic impairment, like decreased muscle strength, can be a common sign of diskitis in children. Advanced imaging is crucial when these symptoms appear to rule out spinal involvement.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Pediatric Neurology
- Pediatric Radiology
Background:
- Neurologic impairment is rarely associated with childhood diskitis in medical literature.
- Diskitis is typically not recognized as a condition presenting with neurological symptoms in pediatric patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and detail the neurological findings in children diagnosed with diskitis.
- To understand the implications of these neurological manifestations in pediatric diskitis cases.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of medical records for children diagnosed with diskitis between 1992 and 2000.
- Diagnosis confirmation based on clinical presentation, laboratory inflammatory markers, and compatible imaging studies.
Main Results:
- Neurologic deficits, including decreased muscle strength and hyporeflexia, were observed in 41% (7 of 17) of pediatric patients with diskitis.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 5 of these patients revealed intraspinal inflammatory involvement in 2 cases.
Conclusions:
- Neurologic impairment should not preclude a diagnosis of diskitis in children and may represent a frequent clinical feature.
- The presence of neurological findings in pediatric diskitis necessitates advanced imaging to exclude intraspinal inflammatory processes.
Background:
Neurologic impairment is not considered a clinical manifestation of diskitis in children and has seldom been associated with it in the medical literature.
Objective:
To describe neurologic findings and their implications in children with diskitis.
Study Design:
Retrospective medical records review of children discharged with a diagnosis of diskitis between January 1992 and December 2000. The study included children in whom the diagnosis was based on the presence of clinical findings, laboratory evidence of an inflammatory process, and findings on imaging studies compatible with diskitis.
Results:
Neurologic findings of decreased muscle strength or hyporeflexia in the lower extremities were found in 7 (41%) of 17 children who met the diagnostic criteria for diskitis. Five of the 7 underwent magnetic resonance imaging, 2 of whom demonstrated intraspinal inflammatory involvement.
Conclusions:
Neurologic impairment does not exclude the diagnosis of diskitis and may be a common manifestation of the disease in children. Nevertheless, when neurologic findings are present, advanced imaging studies are needed to exclude intraspinal involvement.