Artropatía vertebral de Charcot en lesionados medulares: problema diagnóstico

Resumen.--La artropatía neuropática de Charcot fue descrita en 1868 en pacientes afectos de tabes dorsal, y unos años después se describió su localización en articulaciones intervertebrales. Actualmente es una entidad reconocida entre las secuelas de lesiones medulares crónicas. Sin embargo, su diagnóstico y tratamiento siguen sujetos a discusión, y diversas publicaciones hacen referencia al problema del diagnóstico diferencial con artropatías de origen infeccioso afectando a la columna. Se exponen dos casos de pacientes afectos de lesiones medulares de larga evolución y que presentaron hallazgos compatibles con articulaciones neuropáticas de columna, pero que dieron lugar a un problema de diagnóstico diferencial con artritis infecciosa. El diagnóstico es complejo en pacientes lesionados medulares que presentan clínica de infección, pudiendo incluso superponerse ambos procesos.

Abstract.--Neuropathic osteoarthropathy, or Charcot joint disease, was first described in 1868 in patients affected by tabes dorsalis, and it is currently a recognized entity among the sequelae of chronic spinal cord lesions. However, its diagnosis and treatment are still under discussion, and various publications make reference to the difficulties of differential diagnosis in cases of osteoarthropathies of infectious origin affecting the spine. The diagnosis is complex in patients with spinal cord lesions that have symptoms and signs of infection, and the two processes can even overlap. We describe two cases of patients with long-standing spinal cord lesions that presented findings compatible with neuropathic spinal articulations but that gave rise to a problem in the differential diagnosis with infectious arthritis. A surgical approach enabled histological and microbiological studies, confirming Charcot's disease and ruling out infection of the intervertebral space in the second case. Conclusion. In patients presenting febrile syndromes of unknown origin and a generally declining state of health whose laboratory findings indicate infection, the differential diagnosis can be hindered when it is difficult to differentiate Charcot's disease from pyogenic discitis or Pott's disease on imaging studies. The possibility of superinfection of a Charcot joint must be taken into account, and the surgical approach is usually necessary.