Analysis of 61 cases of vertebral osteomyelitis

Sixty-one cases of bacterial vertebral osteomyelitis from July 1969 to July 1979 were analyzed. The ages of the 49 men and 12 women ranged from 21 to 66 years. The portal of entry was hematogenous in 58 cases, gunshot wounds in two cases, and and adjacent retroperitoneal abscess in one case. Biopsy was performed in 60 patients. There were 15 complications related to the disease. Gram-negative rods were the predominant bacteria isolated. Blood culture was positive in 13 of the 26 (50%) patients tested. Eleven of the 13 (85%) organisms isolated from the blood cultures correlated with organisms recovered from biopsy specimens. Eleven of the patients had more than one disk level involved. Of the 61 patients, 29 went on to spontaneous fusion, 17 were lost to follow-up study, 11 failed to fuse, three had surgical fusion, and one patient died. Recommendations for diagnosis included the collection of blood cultures and radionuclide bone scans. Management recommendations included systemic antibiotics for at least three weeks and immobilization with either bed rest or spinal orthoses. Surgery was indicated if an abscess was present, neurologic complications occurred, instability became a factor, or the medical treatment failed.