Introduction and importance: Forestier's disease, also known as a vertebral ankylosing hyperostosis or Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH), is a non-inflammatory enthesopathy that affects primarily elderly males and ossifies the anterolateral spine while sparing the intervertebral discs and joint spaces, especially at the cervical spine. Forestier's disease has resulted in the growth of large anterior cervical osteophytes that may compress the pharyngoesophageal region, producing dysphagia. However, symptomatic Forestier's disease presenting with dysphagia and cervical myelopathy is rarely observed. Case presentation A 48-year-old male presented with progressive dysphagia and cervical myelopathy. Based on the presence of radiographic study, Forestier's disease was suspected. Large anterior cervical osteophytes at C4–C6 levels compressed the pharyngoesophageal structure posteriorly. Multilevel degenerative discs compressing the C4 to C6 spinal cord were also seen on sagittal MRI T2-weighted images. Anterior cervical osteophytectomy with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) were performed. The patient made a complete neurological recovery and had no recurrent symptoms at the 5-year follow-up. The patient was extremely satisfied with this treatment and can improved his quality of life (QOL). Clinical discussion Treatment of symptomatic Forestier's disease with secondary dysphagia and cervical myelopathy is rare evidenced by the dearth of reports on surgical treatment. Surgical intervention appears to be safe, effective, and able to halt disease progression. Conclusion Anterior cervical osteophytectomy combined with ACDF with plate fixation is a preferred technique in both neural decompression and swallowing improvement. Surgical intervention, we consider, provides superior results than prolonged non-surgical treatments.

Background Most patients with destructive bone lesions undergo a comprehensive diagnostic procedure to ensure that proper treatment decisions are pursued. For patients with multiple myeloma, this can lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment initiation. This study was conducted to develop a diagnostic rule that could serve as a tool for early identification of multiple myeloma and promote timely referral of patients to haematologists. Methods The clinical prediction rule was developed using a retrospective case-series of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and those with bone metastasis (BM) at Chiang Mai University Hospital from 2012 to 2015. Multivariable fractional polynomial logistic regression was used to derive a diagnostic model to differentiate between MM and BM patients (MM-BM DDx). Results A total of 586 patients (136 MM patients and 450 BM patients) were included. Serum creatinine, serum globulin, and serum alkaline phosphatase were identified as significant indicators for the differentiation of MM and BM patients. The MM-BM DDx model showed excellent discriminative ability [AuROC of 0.90 (95%CI 0.86 to 0.93)] and good calibration. Conclusions This MM-BM DDx model could potentially allow for early myeloma diagnosis and improvement of overall prognosis. A prospective validation study is needed to confirm the accuracy of the MM-BM DDx model prior to its application in clinical practice.

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