Progressive myelopathy in systemic sclerosis patient with cervical intraspinal calcinosis

Systemic sclerosis-associated compressive cervical calcinosis: intersection of degenerative spine instability, lesional spinal cord compression, and traumatic spinal cord injury. Illustrative case

BACKGROUND

Tumoral calcinosis, mass-like calcium deposition into the soft tissues, is an uncommon manifestation of the systemic sclerosis subtype of scleroderma. When this process affects the spinal epidural space, it can cause canal narrowing and place the spinal cord at significant risk of injury.

OBSERVATIONS

Here a 62-year-old female with systemic sclerosis and no previous evidence of spinal cord compromise who developed acute spinal cord injury and quadriparesis after a mechanical fall is described. She was found to have a large dorsal epidural calcified mass compressing her cervical spinal cord. She underwent medical management for acute spinal cord compression as well as surgical management for acute spinal cord injury and degenerative spine disease. Her case illustrates a rare etiology of simultaneous degenerative spine instability and lesional spinal cord compression with acute spinal cord injury.

LESSONS

Tumor calcinosis leading to acute spinal cord injury in the setting of systemic sclerosis is an uncommon but critical entity to recognize in patients with scleroderma and may require the physician to use a combination of medical and surgical management strategies from each of these categories of spine pathology.

Tumoral Calcinosis of the Cervical Spine Associated with a Pathologic Odontoid Fracture

Tumoral calcinosis involves focal calcium deposits in the soft tissues surrounding a joint and most commonly occurs in the hips and elbows, rarely in the cervical spine. Furthermore, it has not been known to be associated with pathologic fractures. To the best of our knowledge, our case report highlights the first case of a pathologic type II odontoid fracture associated with adjacent tumoral calcinosis, resulting in pain, dysphagia, and severe spinal stenosis. The patient underwent a posterior occipitocervical fusion and C1 laminectomy, along with planned tracheostomy and gastrostomy to avoid expected difficulty with postoperative extubation and dysphagia. Additionally, we present a review of existing literature on tumoral calcinosis in the upper cervical spine.

Demographic and clinical characteristics of spinal calcinosis in systemic sclerosis: Possible association with peripheral angiopathy

The objective was to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with spinal calcinosis. Paraspinal and intraspinal calcinosis was assessed blindly by orthopedic surgeons specializing in spinal diseases using chest high-resolution computed tomography (CT) that was performed for the screening and prospecting of interstitial lung disease in 159 Japanese SSc patients. Among these patients, we identified 27 (17%) with spinal calcinosis, and the most common site was cervical level at 77.8% (21/27). The frequency of spinal calcinosis in the late stage was higher than in the early stage (44.4% vs 29.6%). Multiple calcinosis was identified in 18.5% (5/27). The frequency of paraspinal calcinosis only was 59.3%, intraspinal calcinosis only 18.5%, and both intraspinal and paraspinal calcinosis 22.2%. Among SSc patients, 4.4% (7/159) had CT-based evidence of spinal cord compression. Among cases with spinal cord compression, only one had neurological symptoms, and surgical removal improved the symptoms. The other six SSc patients with spinal calcinosis (3.8% of 159) had no symptoms. Male sex (29.6%) and severe peripheral vasculopathy such as digital ulcers (55.6%) and acro-osteolysis (33.3%) were significantly more frequent in the SSc patients with spinal calcinosis than in the SSc patients without spinal calcinosis (10.6%, 32.6% and 14.4%, respectively). Our results suggest that severe peripheral vasculopathy may be associated with the development of spinal calcinosis. Because SSc patients are prone to spinal calcinosis, when SSc patients claim symptoms such as pain, numbness and movement disorder of the extremities, spinal calcinosis is a complication that should be taken into consideration.