Next Article in Journal
The Prevalence and Characteristics of Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH): A Cross-Sectional Study of 1519 Japanese Individuals
Previous Article in Journal
Molecular Diagnostic Review of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma and Its Tumor Microenvironment
 
 
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Gas within the Intervertebral Disc Does Not Rule Out Spinal Infection—A Case Series of 135 Patients with Spontaneous Spondylodiscitis

1
Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery, Charité—University Medicine Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
2
Department of Radiology, Charité—University Medicine Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Diagnostics 2022, 12(5), 1089; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12051089
Submission received: 19 March 2022 / Revised: 20 April 2022 / Accepted: 25 April 2022 / Published: 27 April 2022
(This article belongs to the Section Medical Imaging and Theranostics)

Abstract

Gas in the intervertebral disc is mainly associated with degenerative disc diseases and experts generally assume that it is unlikely in spinal infection. However, large-scale studies supporting this notion are lacking, which is why our study’s aim was to analyze the prevalence of and factors associated with the occurrence of gas in patients with spontaneous spondylodiscitis. Patients presenting with spontaneous spondylodiscitis from 2006 to 2020 were included retrospectively. Exclusion criteria were previous interventions in the same spinal segment and missing imaging data. Clinical data were retrieved from electronic medical reports. Computed tomography (CT) scans were evaluated for the presence of intervertebral gas. Causative pathogens were identified from CT-guided biopsy, open biopsy, intraoperative tissue samples, and/or blood cultures. 135 patients with a mean age of 66.0 ± 13.7 years were included. In 93 patients (68.9%), a causative pathogen was found. Intervertebral gas was found in 31 patients (23.0%) in total and in 19 patients (20.4%) with positive microbiology. Patients with gas presented with significantly higher body temperatures (37.2 ± 1.1 vs. 36.8 ± 0.7 °C, p = 0.044) and CRP levels (134.2 ± 127.1 vs. 89.8 ± 97.3 mg/L, p = 0.040) on admission. As a considerable number of patients with spondylodiscitis showed intervertebral gas formation, the detection of intervertebral gas is not suited to ruling out spondylodiscitis but must be interpreted in the context of other imaging and clinical findings, especially in elderly patients.
Keywords: spine surgery; infection; spondylodiscitis; diagnosis; vacuum phenomenon spine surgery; infection; spondylodiscitis; diagnosis; vacuum phenomenon

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Schömig, F.; Li, Z.; Becker, L.; Vu-Han, T.-L.; Pumberger, M.; Diekhoff, T. Gas within the Intervertebral Disc Does Not Rule Out Spinal Infection—A Case Series of 135 Patients with Spontaneous Spondylodiscitis. Diagnostics 2022, 12, 1089. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12051089

AMA Style

Schömig F, Li Z, Becker L, Vu-Han T-L, Pumberger M, Diekhoff T. Gas within the Intervertebral Disc Does Not Rule Out Spinal Infection—A Case Series of 135 Patients with Spontaneous Spondylodiscitis. Diagnostics. 2022; 12(5):1089. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12051089

Chicago/Turabian Style

Schömig, Friederike, Zhao Li, Luis Becker, Tu-Lan Vu-Han, Matthias Pumberger, and Torsten Diekhoff. 2022. "Gas within the Intervertebral Disc Does Not Rule Out Spinal Infection—A Case Series of 135 Patients with Spontaneous Spondylodiscitis" Diagnostics 12, no. 5: 1089. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12051089

APA Style

Schömig, F., Li, Z., Becker, L., Vu-Han, T.-L., Pumberger, M., & Diekhoff, T. (2022). Gas within the Intervertebral Disc Does Not Rule Out Spinal Infection—A Case Series of 135 Patients with Spontaneous Spondylodiscitis. Diagnostics, 12(5), 1089. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12051089

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop