[Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis of the cervical spine in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis. Description of a personal case]

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a well-described disorder of middle-aged people, with a unique spinal pathology characterized by calcification and ossification of the antero-lateral aspect of at least four contiguous vertebral bodies, with the sparing of intervertebral spaces and sacroiliac joints. DISH has rarely been reported associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a chronic inflammatory articular disease most commonly involving the spine and sacroiliac joints. A 63-year-old man with clinical and radiological findings of DISH with associated AS is described here. The authors conclude that these two diseases may, albeit rarely, coexist.