Espondilodiscite: Que Etiologia?

Abstract

Spondylodiskitis is a rare condition in adults but with high index of morbidity and mortality due to difficult diagnosis. The insidious evolution and the unspecificity of symptoms interfere with prompt treatment, being the diagnosis based primarily on a high index of suspicion. There are two major groups of spondylodiskitis: pyogenic, being Staphylococcus aureus the most frequent etiological pathogen, and granulomatous, caused mainly by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Brucella melitensis, both endemic in Portugal. The authors describe two clinical cases of spondylodiskitis, where the etiological investigation proved a challenge. In both cases the combination of clinical and imagiological data contributed to the appropriate empirical treatment, with a favorable clinical outcome. © 2011 CELOM.