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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

In Vivo Mouse Model of Spinal Implant Infection
Published on: June 23, 2020
Recent advances: infections of the spine
Frank L Acosta1, Luis F Galvez, Henry E Aryan
1University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, M779, Box 0112, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. acostaf@neurosurg.ucsf.edu
Abstract:
The global increase of spinal infections is concomitant with the rise of its risk factors, including HIV/AIDS, diabetes mellitus, intravenous drug use, advanced age, and gunshot wounds to the spine. Because spinal infections have a wide span of presentation, early detection and differentiation are notoriously challenging. Current advances in laboratory and imaging techniques, such as polymerase chain reaction, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, and 99mTc-ciprofloxacin scintigraphy, allow for better diagnostic rendering of the infection and its degree of spinal involvement. Less invasive surgical procedures and preventive surgical management have helped reduce spinal infection morbidities such as deformity and neurologic deficit. Although proper antibiotic regimen and correct surgical management are of vital importance to successful patient outcome, early detection remains the most critical factor.
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