Clostridium difficile vertebral osteomyelitis

Abstract

Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and it occasionally causes extraintestinal infections. We present a case of C. difficile-associated diarrhea that led to vertebral osteomyelitis associated with hardware. The osteomyelitis became symptomatic 2 years after the initial diarrheal event. C. difficile recovered from internal hardware sites cannot simply be regarded as a contaminant but should be treated. © 2013 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.