Spinal Surgery and Disorders

Spinal Infections

The most common complaints of patients with spinal infection is back or neck pain, depending on the location of the infection. Occasionally, pain radiates to the lower limbs, genital area, groin, or even to the abdomen. Pain usually aggravates at night and can be severe enough to awaken the patient. Although it is very difficult to differentiate the common mechanical back pain from a Spinal infection, spondylodiscitis should always be investigated in febrile patients with back pain However, although fever is a common symptom, it is not always present; approximately 50% of the patients with pyogenic spine infections, In some cases, symptoms of spinal infections canbe very similar to those of other spinal pathologies, and thus differential diagnosis is warranted. Especially in elder patients with no fever, misdiagnosis is very common. Spinal infections should be differentiated from spinal tumors, spinal stenosis, herniatednucleus pulposus, and simple muscle strains. MR imaging is very useful in differentiating spinalstenosis and herniated nucleus pulposus from infection since the imaging findings are unique for each pathology.