A case of inflammatory mass resulting from calcium crystal deposition disease around the thoracic spine

Abstract

Calcium crystal deposition diseases are transient benign diseases that can cause intense pain. They can sometimes cause masses and soft tissue edema around the calcification, which should be differentiated from tumors and abscesses. We report a case of calcium crystal deposition disease with an enhanced mass on the ventral side of the vertebral bodies resembling tumors and abscesses.A female patient in her 50s visited our hospital complaining of chest pain. Computed tomography revealed a soft tissue mass with polygonal high-density lesions on the ventral side of the thoracic spine. Initially, we suspected it to be a perivertebral tumor and considered a biopsy. However, the pain rapidly improved with the administration of oral acetaminophen (Caronal, Chuo-ku/Tokyo/Japan). Hence, the patient was followed up for the time being. The mass disappeared after 3 months. In addition, polygonal high-density lesions inside the mass disappeared over time. Therefore, it was diagnosed as an inflammatory mass due to calcium crystal deposition disease.Calcium crystal deposition diseases can cause soft tissue edema and inflammatory mass around the calcium crystal deposit that can be confused with a perivertebral tumor. This report elucidates the importance of identifying calcifications within and near the masses to diagnose an inflammatory mass resulting from calcium crystal deposition.

Keywords

• Computed tomography
• Magnetic resonance imaging
• Calcium crystal deposition diseases
• Calcification
• Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate
• Acute back pain