[Differential diagnosis of infective spondylodiscitis and erosive degenerative disk disease].

Purpose: To assess the value of imaging in the differential diagnosis of erosive intervertebral osteochondrosis (EIVO) versus infectious discitis (ID).

Materials And Methods: Twelve cases of EIVO and 30 cases of ID were reviewed to define the usefull signs for differential diagnosis on plain films, CT, and MR.

Results: No single sign is sufficient, but the association of several signs is suggestive of EIVO: discal vacuum phenomenom, well-defined sclerosis and erosions of vertebral endplates, high signal strip surrounding low signal of vertebral endplates on T1-weighted images.

Conclusion: Imaging is helpful in difficult differential diagnosis of EIVO versus ID.