Possible infection. Worsening back pain with DJD L5-S1, fevers, chills. Five lumbar type vertebral bodies are presumed to be present. Vertebral body heights are within normal limits. Alignment is within normal limits aside from straightening. Bone marrow signal is benign. The conus medullaris is borderline low at the L2-L3 level. Filum terminale appears within normal limits.There is moderate to severe loss of disc height at the L5-S1 level and to a lesser degree at the L2-L3 level. There is suggestion of vacuum phenomena at the L5-S1 level. There is no significant edema within L5-S1 disc space or endplates. There are also no significant inflammatory change or evidence of abscess in the epidural or paraspinous soft tissues.Multilevel degenerative changes are seen, as described below:L1-L2: No significant disc disease. No spinal canal or neural foraminal stenosis.L2-L3: Disc height loss and edema involving the endplates anteriorly which is on a degenerative basis. There is a disc bulge without significant spinal canal stenosis. There is minimal narrowing of the right neural foramen. Left neural foramen is patent. L3-L4: Disc bulge eccentric to the left with partial effacement of the left lateral recess and mild to moderate left neural foraminal stenosis. There is contact of the descending L4 and exiting L3 nerve roots. No significant spinal canal or right neural foraminal stenosis.L4-L5: No significant disc disease. No spinal canal or neural foraminal stenosis.L5-S1: Moderate to severe disc height loss, vacuum phenomenon, fatty endplate marrow signal changes, as well as mild disc bulge which is eccentric to the right. There is no significant spinal canal stenosis. There is mild to moderate right and mild left neural foraminal stenosis.Paraspinous soft tissues are within normal limits.
1. No imaging findings to suggest infection in the lumbar spine. 2. There are multilevel degenerative changes with moderate to severe disc height loss at the L5-S1 level and suggestion of vacuum phenomena. There is no significant central spinal canal stenosis at any level. Disc bulge which is eccentric to the left at L3-L4 is associated with mild to moderate left neural foraminal stenosis and partial effacement of the left lateral recess. There is also mild to moderate right and mild left L5-S1 neural foraminal stenosis.