Prevertebral (Longus Coli) Calcific Tendinitis
- Prevertebral calcific tendinitis is a self-limiting condition which usually affects patients in the third to sixth decade of life.
- Patients present with acute onset of neck pain and odynophagia.
- Presumed mechanism of the disease is deposition of hydroxyapatite crystals with secondary inflammatory tendinitis.
- Key Diagnostic Features: Pre-vertebral soft tissue swelling and edema, best appreciated on MRI. Calcification is typically seen in the pre-vertebral compartment, best appreciated on CT scan.
- DDx: Retropharyngeal edema (infectious, inflammatory or traumatic in etiology), retropharyngeal abscess.
- Treatment: Immobilization, anti-inflammatory medications and steroids.
