Vertebral manifestation of chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO)
Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is a systemic osteo-articular disease that is characterized by a sterile, primarily chronic osteomyelitis with various distribution patterns of the individual lesions. In this article, we describe the "axial type" with predominant involvement of the spine, which represents 13 of our 41 CRMO cases of different age groups. The important element of its diagnosis is the typical lympho-plasmacellular spondylitis that can be detected and staged by scintigraphy, MRI and conventional radiography. Potentially affected are all vertebrae from the mid-cervical spine to the sacrum. One or several segments can be involved, sometimes as transient inflammatory edema, sometimes as "migratory spondylitis" or "saltatory spondylitis", but also as chronic sclerosing type with early radiographically detectable manifestation. Vertebral deformity due to compression and total collapse (vertebra plana) are rare. A complicated course with patulous perivertebral edema can lead to concomitant symptomatic inflammatory changes in adjacent regions and organs. In the course of CRMO, spondylodiscitis only develops as secondary destruction following the spondylitis. This can help to differentiate spondyloarthropathies from CRMO that is initially detected as primary lesion in the spine. While CRMO generally has a good prognosis, its radiological differentiation from rheumatologic conditions plays an important role.