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Tophaceous gout of the lumbar spine mimicking pyogenic discitis
Kyung-Soo Suk1, Ki-Tack Kim, Sang-Hun Lee
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyung-Hee University, Seoul, Korea. sks111@khmc.or.kr
Background Context:
Gout of the spine is very rare. Forty-one cases of gout affecting the spine have been reported.
Purpose:
To present a patient with tophaceous gout of the lumbar spine mimicking pyogenic discitis.
Study Design:
Case report.
Methods:
The medical record, including operative notes, progress notes, discharge summary, clinical notes, radiological study, and pathological studies was reviewed.
Results:
The patient had acute low back pain and radiculopathy with high spiking fever. Therefore, pyogenic discitis was suspected. However, histological diagnosis revealed tophaceous gout.
Conclusions:
Tophaceous gout of the spine is very rare. However, when a patient presents with acute back pain and fever, spinal gout should be considered, particularly in a patient with a previous history of hyperuricemia or gout.
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