Spondylodiscitis After Vertebral Fracture in the Thoracic Spine

Abstract not available. Introduction provided instead.

Pyogenic spinal infections can be regarded as a spectrum of diseases and represent 2% to 4% of all cases of osteomyelitis.^1,2 Most are categorized as either spondylodiscitis or pyogenic osteomyelitis. Pure discitis has been challenged as an entity because there is evidence of spondylodiscitis in all cases with a pure radiographic diagnosis of discitis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).^3,4 Although granulomatous infections can begin as spondylitis,⁵ pure pyogenic spondylitis has never been reported with certainty.⁶ Spondylodiscitis, which consists of an inflammatory process involving the disc and adjacent vertebrae,^2,7 may occur spontaneously or after spinal surgery (usually lumbar discectomy). It has been proved that intervertebral disc-space infections and vertebral osteomyelitis are the same disease at different stages,^6,8 so the outlines of treatment are the same. Patients with diabetes and lung or systemic infections, patients undergoing dialysis or transplantations, and patients with depressed immune systems are more commonly affected.⁹ All previous case reports of spondylodiscitis after vertebral fracture involved the thoracolumbar and lumbar spine.^10-15 In this article, we describe the first case of spondylodiscitis after vertebral fracture in the thoracic spine.