Elastofibroma dorsi prevalance in patients with primary complaint of dorsalgia

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of elastofibroma dorsi (EFD) in computed tomography (CT) imaging of the thorax in patients with dorsalgia. Materials and Methods: Patients who are greater than or equal to 50 years old and presented to our institution with chief complaint of dorsalgia and received a thoracic CT were identified and recorded in a database together with demographic information. Control group was chosen from consecutive trauma patients in the same age group and presented to emergency room and received thoracic CT as standard of care. Results: Out of 83 patients with common complaint dorsalgia, 9 (9/83, 10.8%) patients had no lesions and EFD was observed in 74 of the patients (74/83, 89.2%). 140 EFD including 106 (106/140, 75.7%) with a subscapular localization and 34 (34/140, 24.3%) with an infrascapular extension were identified. The maximum diameter average was 4.1 cm (range = 1-11.5 cm). Unilateral lesion was detected in 8 (8/74, 10.8%) and bilateral lesions was observed in 66 (66/74, 89.2%) of the patients. Detection of EFD in patients with isolated dorsalgia complaints was significantly higher than patients with multiple complaints (78.4% vs 21.6%, p = 0.009). Conclusions: Middle aged and elderly patients with isolated dorsalgia show an unusually high EFD prevalence. Clinical suspicion and diagnostic work-up can help those cases for timely diagnosis and treatment.