Acute pyogenic diskitis (spondylodiskitis) in adults.

Most cases of back pain are the result of degenerative changes in the spine or are related to musculoskeletal elements. Pyogenic infections of the back can be subcategorized into cases involving the paraspinal epidural space, vertebral bodies, or the intervertebral disk spaces. Any region of the spine may be the site of diskitis, although the process most commonly involves the lumbar spine. Most cases of diskitis are managed with conservative therapy, including antibiotics and spinal immobilization using braces or corsets. Surgical therapy is generally reserved for patients with neurological complications, spinal instability, or progressive spinal deformity or those who fail to respond clinically to antibiotic therapy alone.