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Rheumatol Int
DOI 10.1007/s00296-014-3160-6
Rheumatology
INTERNATIONAL
ORIGINAL ARTICLE - CASES WITH A MESSAGE
Osteopoikilosis: report of a familial case and review of the
literature
Muhammet Furkan Korkmaz · Murat Elli · Mehmet Burak Özkan ·
Meltem Ceyhan Bilgici · Ayhan Dag ˘ demir ·
Merve Korkmaz · Fevziye Canbaz Tosun
Received: 2 July 2014 / Accepted: 15 October 2014
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Keywords Osteopoikilosis · Osteosclerotic dysplasia ·
Osteoblastic metastasis · Osteopathia condensans
disseminata
Introduction
Osteopoikilosis (osteopathia condensans disseminata, spot-
ted bones) is a benign osteosclerotic dysplasia which is an
asymptomatic, rare autosomal dominant condition and rec-
ognized by characteristic radiologic involvement [1]. The
cause and pathogenesis of osteopoikilosis (OPK) are not
known. Prevalence has been estimated to be 1/50,000. Male
and female are equally affected, and it may occur at any
age [2]. Usually, OPK has an asymptomatic pattern, but
15–20 % patients may have slight articular pain and joint
effusion [1]. The diagnosis is often made incidentally by
typical radiographic appearance on plain radiographs. Spo-
radic forms are presented, but familial occurrence which is
due to autosomal dominant pattern of genetic transmission
has been reported in various studies [3]. In this study, we
report a 17-year-old boy who has been suffering from back
pain for a year and has a mother with similar radiologic
involvement.
Case report
A 17-year-old boy was admitted to our pediatric oncology
clinic with complaints of low back, leg and hip pains for
a year. According to his history, these complaints, which
were intensive at night and when he was tired, were often
repeated once a month. The patient did not have any other
complaints and systemic diseases. Physical examination
and ophthalmologic evaluation were normal. He did not
Abstract Osteopoikilosis (OPK) is a benign, rare,
asymptomatic osteosclerotic bone dysplasia which is
inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. It may develop
during childhood and persists throughout life. Diagnosis
is usually made incidentally according to radiographs. It
may be confused with other conditions, such as osteoblas-
tic metastases. OPK must be in differential diagnosis when
multiple, small, well-defined, symmetric bone lesions are
identified on plain radiograph to avoid alarming the patient
with more serious disease and misdiagnosis. Bone scin-
tigraphy is normal and useful for differential diagnosis.
Although it is usually asymptomatic, effusion and joint
pain can be found in 15–20 % of patients. In this study,
we report a 17-year-old boy who suffers from low back
pain and has a mother with similar involvement. He was
diagnosed OPK radiologically. We also review the clinical
manifestation, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment
of OPK in this paper.
M. F. Korkmaz (*) · M. Korkmaz
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine,
Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey
e-mail: korkmazmfurkan@gmail.com
M. Elli · A. Dag ˘ demir
Department of Pediatric Oncology, Faculty of Medicine,
Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey
M. B. Özkan · M. C. Bilgici
Department of Pediatric Radiology, Faculty of Medicine,
Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey
F. C. Tosun
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine,
Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey