[Diagnostics and treatment of spondylodiscitis]

Spondylodiscitis, infection of the spine and intervertebral discs, is a rare condition with increasing incidence. Early diagnosis can be challenging due to the non-specific symptoms such as back pain and fever. Diagnosis is verified by MRI. Microbial aetiology is pursued by blood cultures or surgical biopsy, however, some cases remain culture-negative. Long-term antibiotic treatment is standard of care. Some patients receive surgical treatment. One-year mortality is up to 20%. Recently, published data suggest that six weeks of antibiotics equals 12 weeks in culture-positive cases.