Crystal arthropathy of the lumbar facet joint is a rare but benign differential diagnosis of spondylodiscitis.
A 70-year-old woman with a recent sigmoid diverticulitis was examined for a suspicion of infectious spondylodiscitis. She had inflammatory low back pain for a month with low-grade fever and C-reactive protein (CRP) up to 3 mg/dl. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine suggested a septic localization with T2 …