Unusual worm-like radiopacities in the radiographs of patients with cervical spondylosis

Abstract

This report describes three patients with cervical spondylosis whose diagnostic radiographs showed worm-like, irregularly curved radiopaque lines and strings in the head and neck region during routine chiropractic examinations. Such artifacts are frequently misinterpreted as parasitic infection, electrostatic discharges, detector image lag, fracture, or ligature wires. All three patients with worm-like radiopacities disclosed their 15–20 years of history of acupuncture treatment to relieve neck pain. The present cases of unexpected and coincidental findings may suggest a possible acupuncture-caused radiographic artifacts in the neck and jaw bones. In particular, the patient had previous gold thread treatments possibly associated with the observed radiographic artifacts. These cases may emphasize the importance of having a thorough understanding of patient history regarding unexpected radiographic artifacts.