The first ever case of spondylodiscitis caused by Clostridium ramosum in an elderly immunocompetent patient has been reported. C. ramosum is usually an intestinal bacterium but may occasionally be isolated in clinical specimens as an opportunistic pathogen. This report shows that this anaerobic organism can cause bone tropism without there having been any contamination due to spinal surgery. Th...

Spinal tuberculosis (Pott disease) can produce severe deformities when it is not properly treated. Long instrumentations through single or combined double approaches are usually required to prevent and correct the deformity. The authors present a case of severe deformity secondary to tuberculous spondylodiscitis in the lumbar spine treated with a monosegmental instrumentation through a double a...

OBJECTIVES To search for imaging characteristics distinguishing patients with successful from those with futile microbiological pathogen detection by CT-guided biopsy in suspected spondylodiscitis. METHODS 34 consecutive patients with suspected spondylodiscitis underwent CT-guided biopsy for pathogen detection. MR-images were assessed for inflammatory infiltration of disks, adjacent vertebrae...

OBJECTIVE To study practical guidelines and strategies in the treatment of cervical osteomyelitis. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 14 patients who underwent surgical treatment for cervical osteomyelitis from May 2000 to July 2008. We investigated their clinical course, antibiotic regimen, surgical methods, and laboratory and radiologic findings including X-ray, CT and MRI. RESULTS 5 pat...

There remains no doubt that primary abscesses are due to a hematogenous spread due to bacteremia and secondary abscess occurs as a result of direct spread of infection from an adjacent structure [2,3]. A case of primary psoas abscess with spondylodiscitis was published earlier by us [4]. Hernández-Ros, et al. commented that all authors must use the recent classification criteria and accordingly...

All iatrogenic vascular injury occurring during discectomy is a rare complication, but fatal if not immediately diagnosed. When a vascular injury is highly suspected during discectomy, immediate vascular evaluation is needed even vital signs are stable during and immediately after the operation. We describe a case of iatrogenic abdominal aortic injury that occurred during discectomy in a spondy...

The case is reported of a patient who developed a vertebral osteomyelitis caused by Enterobacter cloacae. The organism was isolated in cultures of blood and vertebral puncture biopsy samples. The patient was satisfactorily treated with trimethroprim and sulphamethoxazole. Enterobacter cloacae, a Gram negative organism, has been confirmed as the cause of bacteremia in patients with burns, urinar...