Percutaneous CT-guided vertebral bone biopsy in children.

<bold>Background: </bold>Few published series are dedicated solely to CT-guided vertebral bone biopsy in children.<bold>Objective: </bold>The objective of our study was to review the diagnostic yield of CT-guided vertebral bone biopsy in children.<bold>Materials and Methods: </bold>A retrospective review of 26 consecutive CT-guided vertebral bone biopsies during a 7-year period in 24 children (16 girls and 8 boys), mean age 8.8 years (range 1-16 years) was performed at our institution. Procedures were reviewed for diagnostic accuracy, biopsy location, complications and final diagnosis.<bold>Results: </bold>Twenty-five of 26 biopsies (96%) were technically successful. Twenty-one of 26 biopsies were diagnostic (81%); 2/26 (8%) were false-negative removing non-lesional tissue, 2/26 (8%) were nondiagnostic, and 1/26 (4%) was technically unsuccessful. The diagnoses were as follows: 12/26 biopsies (46%) were osteomyelitis, 3/26 (11%) biopsies were Langerhans cell histiocytosis, 3/26 biopsies (11%) were normal bone, 2/26 (8%) biopsies were malignant tumors, and 1/26 (4%) biopsies was osteoblastoma. There was one self-limited, procedure-related complication: a small right-sided pneumothorax occurred in the setting of attempting to create a protective extrapleural biopsy window.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>Percutaneous CT-guided vertebral bone biopsy can be performed safely in children with a high degree of diagnostic accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]