Infective spondylitis in Southern Chinese: a descriptive and comparative study of ninety-one cases

A retrospective review of infective spondylitis patients assessed at a major, tertiary referral centre in Hong Kong.

To assess the prevalence, risk factors, clinical features, and prognostic outcomes associated with tuberculous spondylitis to that of pyogenic spondylitis in Southern Chinese treated at a single institution.

Previous studies in Asia suggest that tuberculous spondylitis is the predominant infection unless proven otherwise. Current clinical experiences suggest otherwise; however, the current trend and clinical profile of infective spondylitis among Southern Chinese remains speculative with no published studies examining their prevalence.

A retrospective review was performed of all infective spondylitis cases presenting from January 2004 to July 2008 to a tertiary referral center. Cases were included on the basis of clinical and microbiological criteria. Radiographic imaging was used for further confirmation.

Ninety-one patients were identified. Overall, tuberculous spondylitis and pyogenic spondylitis entailed 22 (24.2%) and 69 (75.8%) cases, respectively. Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly isolated infective agent associated with pyogenic spondylitis. Individuals with pyogenic spondylitis were significantly much older than those with tuberculous spondylitis (P = 0.001). Intravenous drug addiction was the most commonly noted risk factor followed by diabetes, and found to be more prevalent in pyogenic spondylitis cases. At initial presentation, white cell count and c-reactive protein levels were higher in pyogenic spondylitis cases compared with tuberculous spondylitis (P < 0.05). The occurrence of tuberculous spondylitis cases was predominant in the thoracic region (40.9%) (P < 0.05). Surgical intervention was performed in 54.5% of tuberculous spondylitis and in 24.6% of the pyogenic spondylitis cases (P = 0.009).

In Southern Chinese, compared to previous reports over the past 3 decades, a changing prevalence of decreasing tuberculous spondylitis was observed. Pyogenic spondylitis was found to be more common among patients hospitalized for infective spondylitis. This has important implications on the method of diagnosis and the need for establishing microbiological diagnosis before commencing treatment. "Best guess" therapy should not be targeted at tuberculous spondylitis only. There are clear distinctions in the biologic and clinical profiles between tuberculous and pyogenic spondylitis that would help to direct therapy.