Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis exhibiting predominance of periosteal reaction

Nonbacterial and bacterial osteomyelitis in children: a case-control retrospective study

Purpose

Osteomyelitis is a group of bone infectious (bacterial osteomyeilitis-BO) and noninfectious inflammatory diseases (nonbacterial osteomyelitis-NBO) with similar clinical, radiology, and laboratory features. Many patients with NBO are misdiagnosed as BO and receive unnecessary antibiotics and surgery. Our study aimed to compare clinical and laboratory features of NBO and BO in children, to define key discriminative criteria, and to create an NBO diagnostic score (NBODS).

Methods

The retrospective multicenter cohort study included clinical, laboratory, and instrumental information about histologically confirmed NBO (n = 91) and BO (n = 31). The variables allowed us to differentiate both conditions used to construct and validate the NBO DS.

Results

The main differences between NBO and BO are as follows: onset age-7.3 (2.5; 10.6) vs. 10.5 (6.5; 12.7) years (p = 0.03), frequency of fever (34.1% vs. 90.6%, p = 0.0000001), symptomatic arthritis (67% vs. 28.1%, p = 0.0001), monofocal involvement (28.6% vs. 100%, p = 0.0000001), spine (32% vs. 6%, p = 0.004), femur (41% vs. 13%, p = 0.004), foot bones (40% vs. 13%, p = 0.005), clavicula (11% vs. 0%, p = 0.05), and sternum (11% vs. 0%, p = 0.039) involvement. The following four criteria are included in the NBO DS: CRP ≤ 55 mg/l (56 points), multifocal involvement (27 points), femur involvement (17 points), and neutrophil bands ≤ 220 cell/μl (15 points). The sum > 17 points allowed to differentiate NBO from BO with a sensitivity of 89.0% and a specificity of 96.9%.

Conclusion

The diagnostic criteria may help discriminate NBO and BO and avoid excessive antibacterial treatment and surgery.

Radiographic overlap of recurrent Caffey disease and chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) with considerations of molecular origins

Caffey disease, or infantile cortical hyperostosis, classically describes a self-limited inflammatory disorder that presents in the infant with fussiness, focal swelling and sometimes fever. Imaging is conventionally limited to radiography, which shows mild to profound subperiosteal bone formation and sometimes deformity. This disease was not uncommonly diagnosed in the late 20^th century. Interestingly, the disease may not just occur in the infant, and it may be due to a genetic mutation in the alpha-one chain of type 1 collagen (COL1A1). Recurrent or delayed onset in the older child or adolescent also occurs. In more recent years, another type of inflammatory bone disorder, chronic sterile osteomyelitis, has been frequently recognized and, depending on the radiographic stage or the diagnostic modality used, may have characteristics overlapping with Caffey disease. In this review, we discuss the demographics, imaging and known etiologies for Caffey disease and chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis and raise the possibility of similar molecular origins.

Takayasu Arteritis Coexisting with Sclerosing Osteomyelitis

We report a rare case of a 27-year-old woman with Takayasu arteritis (TAK) complicated by diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis. She first presented with sclerosing osteomyelitis of the right mandible without evidence of arteritis in the carotid arteries. Eight months later, she complained of left neck pain, and imaging studies revealed the presence of arteritis in the left carotid artery. She was diagnosed with TAK, and immunosuppressive treatment was initiated, which was effective for both the arteritis and the osteomyelitis. Osteomyelitis is an important complication of TAK and bone scintigraphy is useful for its detection.