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A 50-year-old man presented a cervical vertebral osteomyelitis and epidural abscess due to Staphylococcus aureus. There were significant changes in the cervical region, as revealed by CT scan and MRI, leading to the diagnosis of associated intramedullary abscess of the spinal cord, which was confirmed by anatomopathological study.
A case of Candida albicans spondylodiscitis in a 20-year-old female liver transplant recipient is reported. The patient was successfully treated with sequential therapy with liposomal amphotericin B and fluconazole. A review of the literature showed 10 cases of Candida albicans spondylodiscitis successfully treated either with fluconazole alone or a sequential therapy with amphotericin B and fluconazole. If long-term amphotericin B therapy is not feasible, a prolonged course of fluconazole in a daily dose of 200-400 mg may be considered as an alternative.
The pain of lumbar disc herniation is related to direct compression of the nerve root and to the foreign-body inflammatory response to the herniated disc material. In this study, we attempted to identify disc-related inflammation in trans-ligamentous extruded and sequestered lumbar disc herniation using gadolinium-DPTA-enhanced T1-weighted and short-time inversion recovery (STIR) magnetic resonance imaging. We assessed how these results related to each other, and to patients' clinical status, and to immunohistochemistry findings in disc specimens removed at surgery. Forty-one patients with trans-ligamentous extruded or sequestered disc herniation were investigated clinically and radiologically. Twenty-five patients who did not respond to initial medical treatment or who had progressive neurological deficits underwent discectomy. Specimens of disc material removed during surgery were studied immunohistochemically and inflammatory cell types were identified. The other 16 patients showed good response to treatment, and were given further medical therapy and monitored for a mean of 6.3 months of follow-up. All radiological diagnoses in the operated cases were confirmed at surgery. There were no significant differences among the rates of detection of inflammation by contrast MRI, STIR technique, and immunohistochemistry in the surgical treated cases. In the medically treated cases, the frequency of radiological evidence of inflammation on the initial contrast enhanced T1-weighted and STIR images was similar to the frequency observed on the most recent scans done during follow-up. The study showed that the radiological and immunohistochemical evidence of inflammation in these cases does not correspond with patients' clinical pain profiles over time. It also revealed that STIR and contrast T1W are equally reliable for detecting inflammation in trans-ligamentous extruded or sequestered lumbar disc herniation. In future, studies that focus on physical and chemical mechanisms of pain in lumbar disc herniation in larger series of conservatively and surgically treated patients may clarify the link between inflammation and radicular pain in these types of disc herniation.
Candida spondylodiscitis is a rare complication of a haematogenous dissemination of a candida infection, that usually affects immunocompromised patients. We present a case of a Candida albicans spondylodiscitis in a patient in whom a bacterial origin was suspected because of the antecedent of a Staphylococcus aureus bacteriaemia. After unfavourable evolution with initial antibiotic treatment, the correct diagnosis was reached after culture of the material obtained from surgical debridement. The clinical, diagnostic features, and the literature are reviewed.
It is unclear whether the destructive lesions of the vertebral bodies in the spondylodiscitis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are related to mechanical stress or inflammation. We describe early immunohistopathological findings in an AS patient with severe symptomatic spondylodiscitis that support an inflammatory origin.
The use of the iontophoresis modality for driving medications through the skin for treatment of certain TM dysfunction and myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome was first suggested by Gangarosa and Mahan in 1982. This paper introduces the iontophoresis technique for treatment of inflammatory and myofascial disorders of the craniomandibular system. The historical aspects of iontophoresis in medicine and dentistry is reviewed. As an aid to understanding the clinical applications of this method, a review of diagnostic classification of temporomandibular disorders and an in-depth review of the role of the inflammatory process are provided. The effect of inflammation on the synovial/lymphatic system is detailed. Reference is made to the advantages of iontophoresis over hypodermic injection. The basis materials and methods of use of the modality are shown along with a protocol for patient treatment. Several case studies are discussed with clinical observations given.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Salmonella spondylodiskitis is an uncommon type of vertebral infection. The aim of this study was to present a case of progressive paraplegia caused by Salmonella spondylodiskitis and epidural abscess after endoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODS: The patient underwent posterior instrumentation and posterior fusion between T6 and T12, hemilaminotomies at levels T8-T9-T10, and drainage of the abscess. Through a left thoracotomy, anterior T8-T10 corpectomy, debridement, anterior stabilization, and fusion were conducted. RESULTS: Fifteen months later, final follow-up showed no complications secondary to the vertebral and hip surgeries, and neurological status improved to Frankel grade E. Laboratory investigations showed no evidence of Salmonella infection. CONCLUSION: Immunocompromised patients who undergo endoscopic intervention are vulnerable to Salmonella infections. One must consider Salmonella infection in those who develop acute progressive spondylodiskitis.
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Postoperative wound infection after laminectomy is uncommon. In February 1997, 3 patients were confirmed to have postlaminectomy deep wound infections due to Candida albicans. No similar case had been seen during the previous 10 years. The infections were indolent, with a mean time from initial operation to diagnosis of 54 days (range, 26-83 days). All patients were successfully treated. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis revealed the Candida isolates to be identical. A case-controlled study and medical record review revealed that a single operating room technician scrubbed on all 3 infected case patients but on only 32% of the uninfected controls. The technician had worn artificial nails for a 3-month period that included the dates of laminectomy site infections, and C. albicans was isolated from her throat. She was treated with fluconazole and removed from duty. No subsequent cases have occurred during the ensuing 3 years. Artificial nails are known to promote subungual growth of gram-negative bacilli and yeast. This may be clinically relevant, and hospitals should enforce policies to prevent operating room personnel from wearing artificial nails.
Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of Streptococcus bovis endocarditis were prospectively studied among 199 patients with definite endocarditis. Thirty patients (15.1%) had S. bovis endocarditis. Compared with patients with non-S. bovis endocarditis, these 30 patients were older (mean age, 58.6+/-12.4 years vs. 46.0+/-17.0 years; P<.001) and had higher rates of bivalvular involvement (43.3% vs. 7.7%; P<.001), embolism (73.3% vs. 40.2%; P=.002), and diskitis (23.3% vs. 0.6% P<.001). In patients with S. bovis biotype I (S. bovis I) endocarditis, advanced liver disease was present in 56.7%, compared with 15.3% of patients with non-S. bovis endocarditis (P<.001), and colonic adenoma was present in 46.7%. The in-hospital mortality rate (16.7%) was correlated with delayed diagnosis and advanced liver diseases. In our city, S. bovis I endocarditis is frequently correlated with liver diseases; diskitis may be the first sign of the disease.
BACKGROUND: The ability of follow-up imaging examinations to predict treatment failure in patients with spine infections has not been well studied. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of patients with spine infection who had both baseline and 4-8-week follow-up imaging results available at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) during the period of 1994-2002. Follow-up imaging findings were categorized as improved, equivocal, or worse, compared with the baseline findings, on the basis of a simple grading system that focused on associated soft-tissue findings. RESULTS: Baseline and 4-8-week follow-up imaging findings were available for 79 patients with spine infection who presented to the Mayo Clinic during 1994-2002. Thirty-five infections (44%) were due to Staphylococcus aureus, 9 (11%) were due to coagulase-negative staphylococci, and 16 (20%) were culture negative. Twenty-seven (34%), 38 (48%), and 14 (18%) follow-up images were graded improved, equivocal, or worse, respectively. The cumulative rates of 1-year survival free of microbiologically confirmed treatment failure were 100%, 89% (95% CI, 74%-96%), and 56% (95% CI, 24%-83%) for patients with improved, equivocal, and worse follow-up imaging findings, respectively (P=.004). Only 3 (6%) of 52 patients deemed to have had clinical improvement at the time of the follow-up imaging study experienced treatment failure. Elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers identified 2 of these patients as high risk for treatment failure, and the levels were not performed for the third patient. CONCLUSIONS: Applying a simple grading scale to assess follow-up imaging examinations for patients with spinal infection stratifies their risk of treatment failure. Patients' clinical statuses and inflammatory biomarker responses may be helpful for selecting patients at high risk for treatment failure who should undergo follow-up magnetic resonance imaging.
We studied 31 cases of postoperative pyogenic spondylodiskitis (POS), comparing them with 72 cases of nonpostoperative pyogenic spondylodiskitis (NPOS). POS represents 30.1% of cases of pyogenic spondylodiskitis. The onset of symptoms occurred an average (+/-SD) of 27.7 (+/- 25.3) days following surgery. Predisposing factors were less frequent in POS than NPOS cases (P = .002). Neurological complications and inflammatory signs in the spine were more frequent with POS than with NPOS (P = .002 and P < .00001). Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and anaerobic bacteria were more frequent in POS than in NPOS (P = .0001 and P = .05). Percutaneous bone biopsies yielded the etiology in 66.7% of cases, open bone biopsies in 100%, blood cultures in 55.6%, and cultures of adjacent foci in 94.4%. Eleven patients (35.5%) were cured with antimicrobial treatment, but surgical treatment was necessary in 64.5%. No relapses or deaths were recorded. Seventeen patients (54.8%) had severe functional sequelae, which were associated with inflammatory signs in the spine (P = .033), higher levels of leukocytosis (P = .05), higher erythrocyte sedimentation rates (P = .05), and paravertebral abscesses (P = .04).
BACKGROUND: Spondylodiscitis is a rare bacterial infection of the vertebra and intervertebral discs with an inflammatory, destructive course. METHODS: To gain further information about the management and clinical course of spondylodiscitis, we retrospectively reviewed 32 patients in 2002 who had surgical interventions between 1992 and 2001. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 61 years (29-78 years). The mean hospital stay was 47 days (+/- 5.6 days; 3-121 days), including 28 days (+/- 8.1 days; 2-112 days) in the ICU. In-hospital mortality was 6%. The cervical spine was affected in 20% of patients (6/32), the thoracic spine in 25% (8/32), and the lumbosacral spine in 55% (18/32). Abscesses occurred in 63% of patients (20/32) and destruction of the vertebral body in 71% (23/32). Neurological deficits were present in 17 patients, which improved by surgical intervention in 82% of those affected. Thirty-one patients underwent ventral resection of the focus, spondylodesis with a bone graft or titanium cage, and ventral stabilization with a plate. In 19% of patients (6/32), additional dorsal bridging instrumentation was performed. Complete healing was obtained in 94% (30/32) patients. At follow-up, 50% of patients (16/32) had no complaints. CONCLUSIONS: Spondylodiscitis requires immediate debridement of the focus, with decompression and stabilization through a ventral approach, when conservative management fails. Otherwise, severe complications occur, such as sepsis, vertebral body destruction, abscess, or neurological deficits.
Kingella kingae rarely causes infection and is mainly associated with endocarditis and septic arthritis in adults. The organism is also capable of causing intervertebral diskitis in children, but thus far, no reports of this infection occurring in adults have been published. A case of diskitis due to K. kingae in an adult is reported for the first time, and the literature on this infection in children is reviewed.
Six cases of Kingella kingae arthritis, osteomyelitis, and diskitis were studied, and data were reviewed from an additional 23 cases in the English-language literature. K. kingae is a slow-growing, fastidious, gram-negative microorganism that colonizes mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract. Infections were predominantly seen in infants and young children (86% of cases) and were preceded by an upper respiratory tract infection in 31% of patients. Low-grade fever (38 degrees C-39 degrees C) and pain or swelling involving the affected limb developed insidiously. However, 76% of the infections were diagnosed within 1 week after the onset of symptoms. The knee was involved in 47% and the hip in 33% of cases of arthritis. Osteomyelitis mainly involved the femur (36%); four cases of osteomyelitis (29%) were diagnosed as diskitis. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was greater than 20 mm/h in all patients. Gram stains of aspiration fluid were positive in 19% of cases, whereas blood cultures yielded growth in only 5%. Radiographic signs indicating the presence of osteomyelitis were observed in 93% of patients. All patients recovered completely. K. kingae is an important causative agent in indolent bone, joint, and intervertebral disk infections.