Septic arthritis of a lumbar facet joint caused by Staphylococcus aureus.

Study Design: Case report of a 35-year-old woman with septic arthritis of a lumbar facet joint.

Objectives: To report a rare case of severe low back pain and the specific differential diagnostic problems.

Summary Of Background Data: Differential diagnosis between spondylodiscitis and facet joint septic arthritis on a clinical basis is very difficult.

Association between muscle trauma and heterotopic ossification in spinal cord injured patients: reflections on their causal relationship and the diagnostic value of ultrasonography.

Paraplegic patients presenting with a subacute limitation of hip joint mobility were subjected to serial sonographic examinations. In four patients the initial sonographic study disclosed discontinuity with fluid collection in the psoas muscle, which was diagnostic of a traumatic muscle rupture. All four patients subsequently developed sonographic and radiographic evidence of heterotopic ossification.