Spiral computed tomography in the diagnosis of inflammatory diseases of the vertebral column

A Somatom Plus 4 spiral computed tomograph was used to examine 40 patients with purulent spondylitis and 8 patients with tuberculous spondylitis. Analysis of the primary examination, postoperative status, and follow-up of patients on medical therapy identified the main signs of an inflammatory process from a great variety of the computed tomographic (CT) signs of a lesion. They made it possible not only to reveal the inflammatory nature of a lesion, but also to differentiate purulent and tuberculous spondylitis. The main CT signs that allow a purulent spondylitis to be differentiated from tuberculous one are as follows: the location of involved veterbrae, the number of and the pattern of destruction of trabecular and cortical layers, the extent of and the form of paravertebral tissue lesion.