1/39. "Ankylosing spondylitis" without sacroiliitis in a woman without the HLA B27 antigen.An elderly woman with otherwise typical ankylosing spondylitis for 45 years lacked radiologic evidence of sacroiliitis and the HLA B27 antigen. The illness was complicated by renal tuberculosis requiring a left nephrectomy 23 years after the onset of low back pain, and 20 years after an episode of severe iritis. After the eradication of the tuberculosis by surgery and chemotherapy, she has continued to have symptomatic spondylitis. The case seems to be an exception to the rule that sacroiliitis is a sine qua non for ankylosing spondylitis. women with ankylosing spondylitis tend to have milder disease with an apparently lower frequency of roentgenographic changes in sacroiliac joints.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = low back pain, low back, back pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/39. Atypical clinical presentation of ankylosing spondylitis.OBJECTIVES: To describe a subgroup of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), whose disease evolved without the characteristic inflammatory back pain or significant disability. methods: Three patients who were diagnosed in their late 5th decade of life as having AS are described. Information about asymptomatic cases of AS or patients who were unaware of their disease was gathered from case reports and from studies involving HLA-B27-positive individuals. Another source of information derived from studies that investigated conditions known to be a complication of AS, such as heart block or aortic regurgitation. RESULTS: The data collected from the literature suggest that 1.5% to 10% of the patients with AS are asymptomatic or have very mild disease. These patients are diagnosed late in the course of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the mild nature of the symptoms, the real prevalence of atypical AS is unknown. The information gathered from the literature allows to delineate 4 subgroups of patients with AS: (1) Classic AS with characteristic clinical and radiographic manifestations; (2) Asymptomatic AS with characteristic radiographic findings; (3) Asymptomatic AS with extra-articular features as the presenting manifestations; (4) Symptomatic AS without radiographic supporting evidence. patients with asymptomatic or mild symptoms deserve more attention, because a better understanding of the factors that affect the expression of pain in different individuals may generate better pain control therapies.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.10579362987751keywords = back pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/39. Successful treatment of protein-losing enteropathy due to AA amyloidosis with somatostatin analogue and high dose steroid in ankylosing spondylitis.Secondary amyloidosis is an occasional complication of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and in most cases renal amyloidosis presents with proteinuria, nephrotic syndrome and decreased renal function. We describe a 32-year-old male patient with AS manifested by frequent diarrhea, intermittent abdominal pain and low serum albumin levels. He has suffered from severe inflammatory back pain for 14 years with multiple peripheral joint involvement. Protein-losing enteropathy due to gastrointestinal amyloidosis was diagnosed with 99mTc-human albumin scintigraphy, fecal alpha-1 antitrypsin clearance and colonoscopic biopsy with congo red staining. somatostatin analogue octreotide and prednisolone were introduced with successful result.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.10579362987751keywords = back pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/39. VATER association: is it recognised by rheumatologists?The authors describe an adult patient with history of chronic low back pain and recurrent prostatitis, marked limitation of lumbar spine motion and a radiograph demonstrating fused lumbar vertebrae, which suggest a diagnosis of spondylarthropathy. However, the absence of radiographic evidence of sacroilitis, the nature of the vertebral defects and a history of imperforate anus pointed towards the diagnosis of VATER association, rather than a spondylarthropathy. Although most patients with VATER association are diagnosed during infancy, the musculoskeletal anomalies can be overlooked while the potentially life-threatening problems are under treatment. These anomalies may become evident later in life. Therefore, in a rheumatologic practice, when evaluating patients with back pain and vertebral anomalies, one should become familiar with the varied manifestations of VATER association.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.1057936298775keywords = low back pain, low back, back pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/39. cauda equina syndrome in ankylosing spondylitis (the CES-AS syndrome): meta-analysis of outcomes after medical and surgical treatments.The cauda equina syndrome in ankylosing spondylitis (the CES-AS syndrome) is marked by slow, insidious progression and a high incidence of dural ectasia in the lumbosacral spine. A high index of suspicion for this problem must be maintained when evaluating the patient with ankylosing spondylitis with a history of incontinence and neurologic deficit on examination. There has been disagreement in the literature as to whether surgical treatment is warranted for this condition. A meta-analysis was thus performed comparing outcomes with treatment regimens. Our results suggest that leaving these patients untreated or treating with steroids alone is inappropriate. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs may improve back pain but do not improve neurologic deficit. Surgical treatment of the dural ectasia, either by lumboperitoneal shunting or laminectomy, may improve neurologic dysfunction or halt the progression of neurologic deficit.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.10579362987751keywords = back pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/39. HLA-B27 positive juvenile arthritis with cardiac involvement preceding sacroiliac joint changes.While cardiovascular disease develops in up to 50% of adult patients with ankylosing spondylitis, it is very uncommon in its juvenile counterpart. Regarding the early stage of the disease, before onset of sacroiliac joint changes, only two cases with aortic incompetence have been published while reports of mitral valve involvement are not available. A 13 year old boy is described with an HLA-B27 positive asymmetric oligoarthritis and enthesitis, without back pain or radiographic evidence of sacroiliitis. echocardiography showed an echogenic structure measuring 8 x 11 x 20 mm at the fibrous continuity between the aortic and mitral valves extending through a false tendon into an echogenic thickened posterior papillary muscle, causing a grade II aortic and grade I/II mitral regurgitation. Short term corticosteroid and long term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug and disease modifying antirheumatic drug treatments efficiently controlled the symptoms. The cardiac findings remained unchanged during a follow up of 20 months. Careful cardiac evaluation appears to be mandatory even in these young patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.10579362987751keywords = back pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/39. Problems of posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) for the rheumatoid spondylitis of the lumbar spine.We performed posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) on 7 patients with rheumatoid spondylitis (RA) of the lumbar spine with severe low-back pain and/or cauda equina symptoms, and evaluated the effectiveness of PLIF for the lumbar spinal instability in RA secondary to destruction of the anterior elements, including vertebral endplates and the apophyseal joint. The subjects were 7 patients with classic RA, 2 men and 5 women, mean age 65 years old, and the mean duration of RA was 21 years. All had severe low-back pain and difficulty with walking. According to the ARA classification, the patients were at stage 3 or worse and in class 3. diagnostic imaging including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), tomography, myelography, and computed tomographic myelography (CTM) of the lumbar spine clearly delineated pathology, destruction of the vertebral endplate, subluxation, and cauda compression which can be well treated with PLIF. We performed L4/5PLIF (5 cases), L3/4 and L4/5 PLIF (2 cases), and posterior fixation with instruments for anterior column repair and stabilization and posterior decompression. autografts (all cases) and Brantigan IF cage (2 cases) were used. Stable fixation of the lumbar spine was achieved after surgery, and improvement in gait and activities of daily living were achieved through the relief of low-back pain and radicular pain; the mean duration of follow-up was 22 months. Postoperative, plain radiography, CT, and MRI revealed the enlargement of the lumbar canal and fusion and incorporation of grafted bone, but in some cases, collapse of graft, migration of pedicle screw, instability of adjacent level, and collapse of adjacent vertebra were noted. PLIF with spinal instruments is a preferred treatment for rheumatoid spondylitis of the lumbar spine, but in the mutilating type of RA with severe osteoporosis, PLIF in combination with a long fixation system and/or augmentation of the vertebral bodies might be needed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.31738088963254keywords = back pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/39. Andersson lesion: spondylitis erosiva in adolescents. Two cases and review of the literature.We present two patients with seronegative enthesopathy and arthropathy (SEA) syndrome and Andersson lesions. Peripheral arthritis and enthesitis with or without back pain are very important in the recognition of Andersson lesion. MRI seems to be the best method for early diagnosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.10579362987751keywords = back pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/39. Behcet's syndrome coexisting with clinically occult ankylosing spondylitis.The case of a 36-year old man with Behcet's disease (BS) for 16 years had low back pain and stiffness in the cervical and lumbar spine. He was diagnosed as having ankylosing spondylitis (AS). In this report we wish to emphasize the clinically occult co-existence of AS in BS and revelation of AS after a long time of BS diagnose.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = low back pain, low back, back pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/39. Ankylosing spondylitis manifested by spontaneous anterior atlantoaxial subluxation.The onset of ankylosing spondylitis is usually characterized by lower back pain and stiffness in young adults; early diagnosis is not easy, but the disease is generally identified within a few years of onset. Anterior atlantoaxial subluxation may occur in the late stage of ankylosing spondylitis, but early spontaneous subluxation is rarely seen. We present a case of ankylosing spondylitis with an initial symptom of neck pain, rather than lower back pain, due to spontaneous anterior atlantoaxial subluxation. After medical and surgical intervention, except for limited range of motion, the patient experienced neither neck pain nor weakness of his left limbs during the next 8 mo of follow-up.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.21158725975503keywords = back pain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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