Vertebral osteomyelitis
From IDWiki
Background
Microbiology
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Other Gram-positive cocci, including viridans group streptococci, Streptococcus bovis, enterococci, Streptococcus agalactiae, group C and G streptococci
- Less commonly, coagulase-negative staphylococci, Gram-negative bacilli, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida, especially in patients with indwelling lines or injection drug use
- Tuberculosis
- Brucella, in patients from endemic countries, can be as high as 25% of cases
Management
- IV or highly bioavailable oral (metronidazole, fluoroquinolones, linezolid, TMP-SMX, clindamycin, and doxycycline/rifampin)
- Can double-cover Enterococcus with an aminoglycoside for 4 to 6 weeks
- Duration: 6 weeks for most, but 3 months for Brucella
Brucella
- Combination of doxycycline and rifampin
- Duration: 3 months
With Orthopedic Hardware
- Often treated with retention of hardware, especially in early-onset disease1
- Early onset (<4 to 6 weeks post-op)
- I&D with retention of hardware and bone graft material, with primary closure instead of a drain, if feasible
- Late onset (more than 4 to 6 weeks post-op)
- Fusion achieved: incision and drainage with removal of hardware
- Fusion not achieved: retention of hardware with suppressive antibiotics until fusion is achieved, then removal of hardware
Prognosis
- Cure rates are 70-90% with 6 weeks of antibiotics, and are not higher with longer durations (per a single RCT)
- Poor prognosis is associated with multidisc disease, the presence of concomitant epidural abscess, lack of surgical therapy, infection with S. aureus, old age, or the presence of significant comorbidities
References
- ^ Kivanc Atesok, Alexander Vaccaro, Martina Stippler, Brendan M. Striano, Michael Carr, Michael Heffernan, Steven Theiss, Efstathios Papavassiliou. Fate of Hardware in Spinal Infections. Surgical Infections. 2020;21(5):404-410. doi:10.1089/sur.2019.206.
