Is vertebra plana in children more frequent in Langerhans cell histiocytosis or in nonbacterial osteomyelitis/chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis? A single-center retrospective study.

Background and aims “Vertebra plana” (VP) is a flattened vertebral body with preserved intervertebral discs. Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is considered to be the most common cause of VP in children. LCH is a condition with proliferation and accumulation of Langerhans cells in bone, lymph nodes or in organs. However, vertebral fractures are also frequently observed in nonbacterial osteomyelitis/chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (NBO/CRMO). NBO/CRMO is an auto-inflammatory non-bacterial disease with multifocal bone lesions and frequent spinal involvement. The purpose of this study was to identify the frequency of VP in NBO/CRMO and LCH in the patient cohort of a single tertiary children’s hospital.