Vertebral osteomyelitis: eight years’ experience of 100 cases

Abstract

To evaluate the etiology and characteristics of vertebral osteomyelitis cases in our country, patients with vertebral osteomyelitis between January 2000 and December 2007 were included in this study. Clinical and laboratory data of the patients were collected from the medical records retrospectively. Of these 100 patients, 44 had pyogenic, 24 had brucellar, and 32 had tuberculous spondylodiscitis. The age of the patients ranged from 13 to 82 years, with a mean of (SD±) 55 ± 15.6 years. Within the pyogenic group, 10 (22.7%) patients had a spinal surgery history, and in 18 patients of the pyogenic group, an etiological agent was isolated. Ten (56%) of these 18 were methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. While all of the patients included in this study suffered from pain, 49 of these had fever. Sixty-nine percent of the patients had lumbar involvement. The etiological distribution may differ according to geographical areas. Although brucella and tuberculosis (TB) are endemic in our country, pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis was more frequent. The most common involved area in our patients was the lumbar vertebrae. Although thoracic involvement may be more predominant in tuberculous vertebral osteomyelitis, it does not strongly suggest TB. Magnetic resonance imaging may exclude some disorders mimicking vertebral osteomyelitis and may delineate the degree of the involvement. Microbiological and/or histopathological examination of computerized tomography-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsies are the mainstays for the diagnosis. Suspicion and early diagnosis seem critical for preventing sequelae development.

The course of spinal tuberculosis (Pott disease): results of the multinational, multicentre Backbone-2 study

“…This disease is most commonly seen in patients older than 50 years, with a male predominance and leads to significant morbidity [6][7][8][9]. The etiologic agents of VOM may be bacteria, fungi or parasites, their incidence varies in different geographical areas and with underlying diseases [7,10]. When the infecting agent is Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, it is called ST/PD [1].…”

Spondylodiscitis: a common complication of brucellosis

“…Our results showed that lumbar involvement was the most frequent site (69.5%) for spondylodiscitis, and one-quarter of spondylodiscitis cases involved the L3-L4 segment. In previous studies, lumbar involvement was reported as 60-78% in patients with brucellar spondylodiscitis [20,29,30]. One of these studies, the most common site was the L4-L5 segment; the level was not specified in the two other studies.…”

A Case of Spondylodiscitis with Spinal Prevertebral Abscess due to Brusellozis

“…Brucella spondylitis confused with the differential diagnosis of tuberculosis spondylitis, pyogenic spondylitis, metastases, intervertebral disc herniation and spondylosis (11). Even if pyogenic causes are the most common cause of spondylodiscitis, in the endemic regions brucellosis can be the most common cause (11,12). In the story of our patient living in an endemic area for brucellosis and the story of fresh milk consumption suggested the possibility of brucellosis strongly.…”

“…The spondylodiscitis or vertebral osteomyelitis is inflammation of the intervertebral disc and the adjacent vertebral bodies. Brucella spondylitis confused with the differential diagnosis of tuberculosis spondylitis, pyogenic spondylitis, metastases, intervertebral disc herniation and spondylosis (11). Even if pyogenic causes are the most common cause of spondylodiscitis, in the endemic regions brucellosis can be the most common cause (11,12).…”