A man with backache and renal failure

Backache, a common symptom, is rarely caused by infection of the lumbar discs. The authors present the case of a 60-year-old man with a Staphylococcus aureus septicemia and associated lumbar discitis in whom a pauci immune crescentic glomerulonephritis and renal failure developed. Treatment with antibiotics and not immunosuppressive agents resulted in improved renal function with a discharge creatinine level of 1.87 mg/dL (165 micromol/L). This case highlights an association of pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis with discitis that responded to antibiotic therapy alone.