Veillonella Discitis: A Rare Presentation and Review of Literature

Veillonella is an anaerobic gram-negative coccus found as a commensal organism in the oral, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary tract of humans. Rarely, it can cause serious infections by the production of lipopolysaccharide, an endotoxin. Although most Veillonella infections occur in immunocompromised individuals, we herein describe cases of Veillonella discitis, a rare presentation of Veillonella, in immunocompetent patients.

The first presented case was encountered in a patient admitted at our facility. All patient data were obtained from the hospital's electronic medical record system. Thereafter, a literature search and subsequent review was done on PubMed with the MEDLINE database, using the term "Veillonella discitis," to obtain other reported cases of discitis caused by Veillonella.We found a total of 9 cases of Veillonella discitis in immunocompetent patients, apart from our patient. It was most frequently found in those aged 60 to 70 years, with no particular association with patient sex. Chronic backache was the most reported presenting symptom, the lumbar spine being the most commonly affected area, with a high number of cases occurring in the presence of an inciting event. Ceftriaxone, amoxicillin, and clavulanic acid were the most commonly used drugs, with an average duration of therapy of 6 weeks.

The objective of our study was to highlight the importance of recognizing Veillonella as a potential cause of discitis. We aim to educate medical professionals regarding the presentation of Veillonella discitis, the demographic groups affected, predisposing factors, and the treatment options available.