Percutaneous aspiration biopsy in cervical spine lytic lesions

We describe the technique and the results of the percutaneous aspiration biopsy (PAB) in a series of 9 patients presenting with neck pain and different degrees of myelopathy, in whom the cervical spine X-ray demonstrated lytic lesions of unknown origin. PAB is a useful, relatively safe technique, and leads to histological diagnosis between metastatic and inflammatory processes. Furthermore, in inflammatory lesions with negative hemoculture, PAB may help in detecting the micro-organism responsible and therefore allow a better antibiotic treatment. (orig.)