CASE REPORT article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders : Autoimmune Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1683214
This article is part of the Research TopicCase Reports in Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders: Volume IIView all 29 articles
Misdiagnosed with spinal infection instead of SAPHO syndrome: A case report and and literature review
Provisionally accepted
- 1960th Hospital of the PLA, Jinan, China
- 2961th Hospital of PLA, Qiqihaer, China
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This article reports a case of SAPHO syndrome misdiagnosed as spinal infection, detailing the clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, and imaging features of the patient. Through a review of the literature, common confounding factors and reasons for misdiagnosis in the diagnostic process of this disease are summarized. Comprehensive analysis of multiple related studies reveals that detailed medical history collection, advanced imaging examinations (such as ECT), and multidisciplinary consultations play a decisive role in making a correct diagnosis. Furthermore, the literature shows that the treatment for SAPHO syndrome is fundamentally different from spinal infection, with the former mainly relying on anti-inflammatory regulation, bone protective agents, and immune modulation therapy, rather than the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. This report aims to remind clinicians to maintain a high level of vigilance when facing spinal lesions, and to compare and summarize the latest advances in diagnosis and treatment, providing a reference for improving the level of diagnosis and treatment in the future.
Keywords: SAPHO syndrome, Spinal infection, Misdiagnosis, imaging, case report
Received: 10 Aug 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Wan and Chang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhengqi Chang, 26766771@qq.com
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