Bone & joints
Arthritis
Spondylodiskitis
Author: Vijay Shankar, M.D.
Last author update: 1 March 2013
Last staff update: 26 January 2022
Copyright: 2002-2024, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: Infectious arthritis spondylodiskitis
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Diagnosis | Case reports | Gross images | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images | Additional referencesCite this page: Shankar V. Spondylodiskitis. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/jointsspondylodiskitis.html. Accessed April 26th, 2024.
Definition / general
- Inflammation of intervertebral disk tissue and adjacent vertebrae, which are normally resistant to infection due to avascularity
- Usually associated with back pain (since involves lumbar segments), ages 50+ years, male predominance
- Spondylodiskitis commonly involves lumbar (45%), thoracic (35%), and cervical (10 - 20%) spine; causes secondary epidural abscess most commonly in cervical spine, also thoracic and lumbar spine
- Increased frequency of diagnosis due to magnetic resonance imaging
- Most cases are due to pyogenic organisms (Staph, Strep); also Candida, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis; rarely Enterococcus
Diagnosis
- Culture usually positive (78%), special stains are usually negative
Case reports
- 14 year old girl with fungal thoracic spondylodiskitis (J Nippon Med Sch 2009;76:265)
- 35 year old man with tuberculous spondylodiskitis with lumbar tumor (Reumatol Clin 2012;8:292)
- 42 year old man with chronic hemodialysis and Aspergillus fumigatus spondylodiskitis (Exp Clin Transplant 2011;9:265)
- 62 year old man with sigmoid carcinoma and Candida tropicalis spondylodiskitis (Cases J 2008 Jul 29;1:66)
- 70 year old man with recurrent infective endocarditis associated with pyogenic spondylodiskitis (Korean Circ J 2011;41:167)
Gross images
Images hosted on other servers:
Intervertebral disc
(top center) destroyed
by vertebral abscess
Spinal cord compressed by abscess
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Vascularization, myxoid degeneration, necrosis of disk, chronic osteomyelitis
- Variable acute osteomyelitis (25%), granulation tissue
- Tuberculous infection has caseating granulomas
Microscopic (histologic) images
Images hosted on other servers:
C. tropicalis
Additional references
