A MISDIAGNOSED CASE OF SACROILIAC JOINT INJURY AND MALPOSITION

Sacroiliac joint malposition is one of the main causes evoking lumbocrural pain. Because its clinical symptoms are similar to those induced either by lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion or by ankylosing spondylitis （AS） at the early stage, and because X-ray results taken at its early stage were not evident for differentiating the diseases,

Obturator nerve impingement caused by an osteophyte in the sacroiliac joint:A case report

BACKGROUND Cases of obturator nerve impingement(ONI)caused by osteophytes resulting from bone hyperplasia on the sacroiliac articular surface have never been reported.This paper presents such a case in a patient in whom severe lower limb pain was caused by osteophyte compression of the sacroiliac joint on the obturator nerve.CASE SUMMARY A 65-year-old Asian man presented with severe pain and numbness in his left lower limb,which became aggravated during walking and showed intermittent claudication.The physical examination revealed that the muscle strength of the left lower limb had decreased and that the passive knee flexion test result was positive.Computed tomography(CT)and 3D reconstruction showed a large osteophyte located in the anterior lower part of the left sacroiliac joint.The results of electrophysiological examination showed peripheral neuropathy.A CT-guided obturator nerve block significantly reduced the severity of pain in this patient.According to the above findings,ONI caused by the osteophyte in the sacroiliac joint was diagnosed.This patient underwent an operation to remove the bone spur and symptomatic treatment.After therapy,the patient's pain and numbness were significantly relieved.The last follow-up was performed 6 mo after the operation,and the patient recovered well without other complications,returned to work,and resumed his normal lifestyle.CONCLUSION Osteophytes of the sacroiliac joint can cause ONI,which leads to symptoms including severe radiative pain in the lower limb in patients.The diagnosis and differentiation of this disease should attract the attention of clinicians.Surgical excision of osteophytes should be considered when conservative treatment is not effective.

Stereotactic guidance for navigated percutaneous sacroiliac joint fusion

Arthrodesis of the sacroiliac joint（SIJ） for surgical treatment of SIJ dysfunction has regained interest among spine specialists.Current techniques described in the literature most often utilize intraoperative fluoroscopy to aid in implant placement;however,image guidance for SIJ fusion may allow for minimally invasive percutaneous instrumentation with more precise implant placement.In the following cases,we performed percutaneous stereotactic navigated sacroiliac instrumentation using O-arm^（？）multidimensional surgical imaging with StealthStation^（？）navigation（Medtronic,Inc.Minneapolis,MN）.Patients were positioned prone and an image-guidance reference frame was placed contralateral to the surgical site.O-arm^（？） integrated with StealthStation^（？） allowed immediate autoregistration.The skin incision was planned with an image-guidance probe.An image-guided awl,drill and tap were utilized to choose a starting point and trajectory.Threaded titanium cage（s） packed with autograft and/or allograft were then placed.O-arm^（？） image-guidance allowed for implant placement in the SIJ with a small skin incision.However,we could not track the cage depth position with our current system,and in one patient,the SIJ cage had to be revised secondary to the anterior breach of sacrum.

Value of dual-energy CT virtual noncalcium in the diagnosis of sacroiliac joint bone marrow edema

Objective:To explore the clinical value of dual energy CT(DECT)virtual noncalcium(VNCa)in the diagnosis of sacroiliac joint bone marrow edema(BME).Methods:A collection of 45 patients(21 males,24 females,and an average age of 34 years)who underwent MRI and DECT(Siemens Somatom definition force)examinations for the sacroiliac joints in our hospital from January 2019 to August 2020.After the DECT scan,the bone marrow pseudo-color map was obtained after VNCa processing.The bone marrow pseudo-color map was evaluated by two physicians.Take MRI test results as the gold standard,the application value of DECT VNCa technology in the diagnosis of sacroiliac joint BME was analyzed.Results:The positive predictive value(PPV),negative predictive value(NPV),sensitivity(Sen),specificity(Spe)and accuracy(Acc)of the qualitative diagnosis of iliac bone and sacral BME with DECT VNCa technology was:80.6%,85.2%,78.4%,86.8%,83.3%and 100%,64.9%,32.5%,100%,70.0%,respectively.The area of edema displayed by quantitative measurement of DECT VNCa image is smaller than the area measured by MRI image.The VNCa CT value(-71.66±72.97Hu)of the iliac edema area was higher than that of the non-edema area(-90.27±65.85Hu),and the VNCa CT value of the sacral edema area(-62.90±46.87Hu)was higher than that of the non-edema area(-101.08±134.02Hu),the best cut-off values(Cut-off values)for the quantitative diagnosis of iliac bone and sacral BME by VNCa are-66.40Hu and-50.60Hu,respectively.The curve of the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)of the iliac bone and sacrum area under the cure(AUC)is 0.720 and 0.706 respectively.There is a moderate negative correlation between the VNCa CT values of the ilium and sacrum in the edema area and the conventional CT values.Conclusion:The DECT VNCa technique has certain effectiveness in the diagnosis of sacroiliac joint BME,and its effectiveness in the diagnosis of ilium BME is better than sacrum.

Finding the Needle in the Haystack—An Unusual Case of Astasia-Abasia Following Sacro-Iliac Joint Injection for Chronic Low Back Pain

We present the case of a 60 yrs old male who, following a routine, uneventful, fluoroscopically guided L5/S1 facet joint rhizolysis and sacro-iliac joint (SIJ) injection developed an unexpected inability to stand or walk, a condition known as astasia-abasia. Initial concern had been that this neurological phenomenon was as a result of complications of his chronic pain intervention. Despite an essentially normal neurological examination and dedicated battery of neurological imaging and special testing, no cause was identified. Over a 7-day period of in-patient admission and physical rehabilitation symptoms resolved entirely. In the course of the workup for this episode, it was suggested that the phenomenon was the result of a side effect of dexamfetamine, an agent that had been prescribed for the patient by his neurologist for treatment of his narcolepsy. On the back of this episode, this treatment was discontinued by his neurologist following an outpatient consultation. Subsequent repeated SIJ injections were entirely uneventful and the patient experienced no further occurrences of this phenomenon.

Tuina for Leg Length Discrepancy and Lumbosacral Pain Due to Sacroiliac Joint Subluxation

Objective： To observe theclinical effect of tuina reduction manipulation on leg length discrepancy and lumbosacral pain due to sacroiliac joint subluxation. Methods： A total of 60eligible cases were randomly allocated into an observation group and a control group, 30 in each group. Cases in the observation group were treated with conventional tuina plus reduction manipulation of sacroiliac joint subluxation; whereas cases in the control group were treated with conventional tuina plus acupuncture. The clinical effects were observed after 10 times of treatment. In addition, the relapse rates were observed 2 months after treatment. Results： The total effective rate in the observation group was 80.0%, versus 50.0% in the control group, showing a statistically significant difference （P＆lt;0.05）. The relapse rate of lumbosacral pain in the observation group was 12.5%, versus 66.7% in the control group, showing a statistically significant difference （P＆lt;0.01）. The relapse rate of leg length discrepancy in the observation group was 16.7%, versus 80.0% in the control group, showing a statistically significant difference （P＆lt;0.01）. Conclusion： Tuina reduction manipulation can obtain substantial therapeutic effect for leg length discrepancy and lumbosacral pain due to sacroiliac joint subluxation, coupled with a low relapse rate.

Clinical observation of needling gluteus medius muscle trigger point plus chiropractic for sacroiliac joint subluxation

Objective:To observe the clinical effect of needling gluteus medius muscle trigger point (TrP) plus chiropractic for sacroiliac joint subluxation.Methods:A total of 124 cases conforming to the inclusion criteria of sacroiliac joint subluxation were classified by anterior subluxation and posterior subluxation,and randomized into a TrP group and a conventional group respectively.There were 63 patients with anterior subluxation who were randomized into a TrP group of 32 cases (including 4 dropped out cases) and a conventional group of 31 cases (including 3 dropped out cases);and 61 patients with posterior subluxation who were randomized into a TrP group of 31 cases (including 3 dropped out cases) and a conventional group of 30 cases (including 3 dropped out cases).Patients in the TrP group received the treatment of needling gluteus medius muscle TrP plus chiropractic,while patients in the conventional group received conventional acupuncture treatment plus chiropractic.The treatment was done twice a week for a succession of 8 weeks.Then,the pain visual analog scale (VAS),Oswestry disability index (ODI) and therapeutic efficacy were evaluated.Results:After treatment,the total effective rate of TrP group with anterior subluxation was 96.9%,higher than 77.4% in the conventional group,the difference showed a statistical significance (P<0.05);the total effective rate was 93.5% in the TrP group with posterior subluxation,higher than 73.3% in the conventional group.After treatment,the VAS and ODI scores in both groups dropped obviously,the differences showed statistical significance (all P<0.05);the scores of VAS and ODI in the TrP group were obviously lower than those in the conventional group (all P<0.05).Conclusion:Needling gluteus medius muscle TrP plus chiropractic had a better therapeutic effect than conventional acupuncture plus chiropractic for sacroiliac joint subluxation.

Role of diffusion-weighted imaging in early ankylosing spondylitis

Background With the advanced MRI techniques, pathologic features can be detected at an early stage and quantitatively evaluated, resulting in the advantages of early diagnosis and prompt treatment. This study aimed to determine the value of diffusion-weighted MR imaging （DWI） in detection of early ankylosing spondylitis （AS） and investigate the characteristic manifestations of AS on whole body DWl （WB-DWl）. Methods Twenty patients with the diagnosis of early AS, twenty patients with low back pain （LBP）, and twenty-five healthy volunteers were included in this study. The subchondral bone apparent diffusion coefficients （ADC） among these groups in the bilateral ilia and sacrum along the sacroiliac joints were compared. An independent sample t-test was utilized to analyze ADC value differences among groups. P-values less than 0.05 denoted statistical significance. The mean ADC values of focal DWl lesions in AS patients were also measured. Whole body diffusion-weighted imaging was performed in fifteen additional AS patients, and analyzed with MIP and MPR techniques in comparison to conventional MR images in order to evaluate the ability to detect AS lesions with whole body DWI. Results Mean ADC values in AS patients were （0.518±0.122）×10^-3 mm2/s in the ilium and （0.503＋0.168）x103 mm2/s in the sacrum. These were significantly greater than the values measured in the ilium and sacrum of LBP patients, （0.328±0.053）×10^-3 mm2/s in the ilium and （0.311±0.081）×10^-3 m2/s in the sacrum, and control group, （0.325±0.015）×10-3 mm2/s in the ilium and （0.318±0.011）×10^-3 mm2/s in the sacrum respectively. No statistically significant differences were found between LBP group and control group. The mean ADC value of focal DWI lesions in early AS patients was （0. 899±0.265）×10^-3 mm2/s, which was significantly higher than that of adjacent normal-appearance areas （（0.454±0.079）×10^-3 mm2/s）. WB-DWl detected abnormalities in the 15 additional AS patients both within the sacroiliac joints and at other sites mean ADC value of focal DWl lesions of this patient （1.220±0.299） ×10^-3 mm2/s in the ilium. corresponding to the clinical symptoms of the patients. The cohort was （1.286±0.311）×10^-3 mm2/s in the sacrum and Conclusions Subchondral marrow ADC values of subchondral marrows near the sacroiliac joints allow for the differentiation of patients with early AS from normal volunteers and LBP patients. Combined with post-processing techniques such as MIP and MPR, WB-DWl allows for the comprehensive assessment of AS patients, an evaluation potentially helpful in determining prognosis and following the therapeutic response.