Case Report
Volume 1 Issue 1 - April 2017
Nov Appro Drug Des Dev
Copyright © All rights are reserved by Umit Eroglu
Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Calcification: A Case
Report
Umit Eroglu*, Fatih Yakar and Hasan Caglar Ugur
Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara University School of Medicine,Turkey
Submission: March 27, 2017; Published: April 11, 2017
*Corresponding author: Umit Eroglu, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara University School of Medicine, Turkey, Tel:
; Fax: ; Email:
Introduction
Intervertebral disc calcification (IVDC) is the accumulation
of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate or hydroxyapatite crystals
in the nucleus pulposus or annulus fibrosus. Incidence of IVDC
increase with age and narrowing disc space. Although IVDC is
seen with the several systemic diseases and immobilization;
probably the most common causes in elderly patients are
intervertebral disc degeneration and aging [1].
The disease is usually diagnosed incidentally. It is diagnosed
more frequently in patients who are 60 years or older. It also
may be seen in patients who are 20 years or younger but in this
group, spontaneous regression is a possible. In this paper, we
report a 63-year-old male patient was presented with the rarely
seen IVDC and dicuss clinical and radiological findings.
Case Report
63-year-old male patient admitted to our institution with
pain in his waist and both legs. Physical and neurological
examinations were normal. Laboratory findings were in normal
range. The patient had no trauma or surgery in his history.
Thyroid and parathyroid hormones profile were normal. There
was no diagnosis of osteoporosis. On the magnetic resonance
imagination (MRI), at the L1-2 level discus was hypointense
(Figure 1), and intervertebral disc calcification was seen in
lumbar computed tomography (CT) (Figure 2a & 2b). When
evaluated with CT, initial clinical findings were consistent with
the intervertebral disc calcification. The clinic signs of the patient
was thought to be due to lumbar spinal stenosis secondary to
the of L2-3, L3-4, L4-5 levels disc herniations. Non steroidal
inflammatory drug medication was prescribed and resting was
recommended for the patient. The patient’s complaints were
diminished in short notice.
Figure 1: On sagittal T2 sequence of MRI, L1- L2 level discus was
hypointense.
Nov Appro Drug Des Dev 1(1): NAPDD.MS.ID.555552 (2017) 001
Abstract
Intervertebral disc calcification is an uncommon cause of spinal pain and really rare in lumbar disc levels. The certain etiology still
remains uncertain. Most of cases are asymptomatic and are diagnosed incidentally in routine scanning or during evaluation of non-specific
clinical complaints. A 63-year-old male presented with waist and both legs pain. There was no definite history of trauma or infection. Imaging
of the lumbar spine showed calcification of the intervertebral disc at L1-2 level. The patient was kept on medical therapy. The complaints
showed near-complete resolution on 3-month follow-up.
Keywords: Disc calcification; Lumbar; Nucleus pulposus
Abbrevations: IVDC: Intervertebral Disc Calcification; CT: Computed Tomography; MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imagination; X-ray: Direct
Radiography