Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-28-2023

Comments

This article is the author's final published version in North American Spine Society Journal, Volume 16, 2023, Article number 100282.

The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xnsj.2023.100282. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of North American Spine Society.

Abstract

Atypical spinal infections (ASIs) of the spine are a challenging pathology to management with potentially devastating morbidity and mortality. To identify patients with atypical spinal infections, it is important to recognize the often insidious clinical and radiographic presentations, in the setting of indolent and smoldering organism growth. Trending of inflammatory markers, and culturing of organisms, is essential. Once identified, the spinal infection should be treated with antibiotics and possibly various surgical interventions including decompression and possible fusion depending on spine structural integrity and stability. Early diagnosis of ASIs and immediate treatment of debilitating conditions, such as epidural abscess, correlate with fewer neurological deficits and a shorter duration of medical treatment. There have been great advances in surgical interventions and spinal fusion techniques for patients with spinal infection. Overall, ASIs remain a perplexing pathology that could be successfully treated with early diagnosis and immediate, appropriate medical, and surgical management.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

PubMed ID

37915965

Language

English

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