We report a case of 57-year-old diabetic man presented with progressive neck pain for 4 months followed by weakness and numbness of right arm. MRI of the cervicothoracic spine revealed osteomyelitis and diskitis of the C6-T4 spine with epidural and prevertebral phlegmon. Open bone biopsy and decompression of the T4-5 spine was done and the histopathology demonstrated degenerated fungal hyphae w...

We present the first reported case of Aspergillus vertebral osteomyelitis and epidural abscess in Singapore in a 50-year-old man with post-tuberculous bronchiectasis. The patient presented with acute urinary retention and flaccid paraplegia. Despite surgical debridement and treatment with voriconazole, the patient developed multiorgan failure and died two weeks after presentation. Early diagnos...

Salmonella vertebral osteomyelitis is an uncommon complication of Salmonella infection. We report a case of a 57-year-old transgender male who presented with lower back pain for a period of one month following a fall. Physical examination only revealed tenderness over the lower back with no neurological deficits. MRI of the thoracic and lumbar spine revealed a spondylodiscitis at T10-T11 and T1...

A case of vertebral osteomyelitis is presented where initial presumptive diagnosis of tuberculous infection was made on clinico-radiological grounds but eventually turned out to be Salmonella infection upon exploration, biopsy and culture. Patient recovered completely following debridement and appropriate antibiotics (fluoro-quinolones) for a period of six weeks. Internal fixation allowed early...

Three cases of pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis occurred in which unusual, fastidious, Gram negative coccobacilli belonging to the "HB" group were isolated. The organisms were Haemophilus aphrophilus in case 1, intermediate between H aphrophilus and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in case 2, and Eikenella corrodens in case 3. All HB bacteria are sensitive to a wide range of antibiotics.

We retrospectively reviewed medical records to identify the factors that affect the results of culture in patients with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis. In multivariate analysis, the presence of paravertebral abscess was associated with positive results of microbiologic culture. Prior antibiotic exposure, especially of longer duration, was strongly associated with negative results.

Spinal epidural abscess accompanies blood-borne infection, vertebral osteomyelitis, or an overlying cutaneous source of infection. This report documents the development of non-infective epidural abscess where the inflammatory response was induced by the highly irritant contents (keratin and cholesterol) of an underlying epidermoid. This was associated with aseptic meningitis.

We report a case of Mycobacterium bovis BCG vertebral osteomyelitis 1.8 years after intravesical BCG therapy for bladder cancer. We differentiated BCG from other Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex members by PCR analysis of deletion regions and started an appropriate chemotherapy regimen resulting in the remission of symptoms within 1 month.

Mycobacterium chimaera, a member of the Mycobacterium avium complex, is a slow-growing, nontuberculous mycobacterium associated with outbreaks in cardiac-surgery patients supported on heart-lung machines. We report a case of an elderly woman on chronic prednisone who presented with a six-month history of worsening chronic back pain, recurrent low-grade fevers, and weight loss. Imaging identifie...

Lone pyogenic involvement of the posterior elements of the vertebrae is a rare event. We present two cases of isolated lumbar vertebral infection of the posterior elements and review 13 cases previously reported in the literature. Clinical presentation, laboratory and radiographic findings, microbiological etiology, and treatment were evaluated. Back pain, an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation ...