Retropharyngeal Calcific Tendinitis: Time-course Changes in Computed Tomography Images.

A 54-year-old man presented to the hospital with chief complaints of neck pain, odynophagia, and trismus. Cervical computed tomography (CT) revealed calcification anterior to C1-C2 (Picture 1: arrows). The patient was diagnosed with retropharyngeal calcific tendinitis (RCT) and successfully treated with celecoxib. RCT is a disease caused by an inflammation of the longus colli muscle (LCM) associated with the absorption process of hydroxyapatite deposition in the LCM tendon (1). In this patient, CT taken for another disease 15 months (Picture 2: arrow) and 9 months (Picture 3: arrow) prior to the RCT onset showed calcification in the LCM tendon that had increased over time and disappeared by 3 months after the onset (Picture 4), as previously reported (2). CT images of the tendon calcification prior to the RCT attack are valuable. In cases where this kind of calcification is noted incidentally, the patient may develop RCT in the future.

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The author states that he has no Conflict of Interest (COI).