Pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis: report of a series of 23 patients.

Vertebral osteomyelitis, an infectious disease with vague manifestations, can be difficult to diagnose. Although vertebral osteomyelitis represents only 2-4% of bone infections, the consequences are often grave and disabling, even fatal, when untreated. A series of 23 cases is reported in which patient records were reviewed to determine the etiology and appropriateness of diagnosis and management. Information on treatment and follow-up after discharge was obtained from outpatient progress notes, records from subsequent hospital admissions, and telephone interviews of patients. Pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis was diagnosed by positive needle or open biopsy tissue cultures, positive blood cultures in the appropriate clinical setting, or diagnostic histopathology. Staphylococcus aureus was grown from 75% (15/20) of patient cultures, Escherichia coli from 15%, and Staphylococcus epidermidis from 10%. Overall, 87% (20/23) of these patients were disease-free at follow-up. The experience with this series of patients demonstrates that early diagnosis aided by MRI ensures a high cure rate and low complication rate.