5 Year Review of Incidence and Complications of Subclinical Infection in Intervertebral Discs Following Discectomy

Subclinical infection in intevertebral discs has been hypothesized as a cause back pain for several years. Cutibacterium acnes is the most commonly linked causative bacteria. Inflammation from the infected discs is thought to be the main pathogenesis and antibiotics have been used in an attempt to treat this infection.
Aims:The aim of this study is to identify the incidence and complications of subclinical infection in intevertebral discs following discectomy.

Methods:Disc samples following discectomy were obtained over a five-year period at a single spinal surgery centre. All samples were sent for microbiology assessment and extended 14-day culture.  The results of the cultures including the specific organisms grown were recorded. The electronic records of all positive cultures were reviewed and any complications such as infection or recurrence of symptoms were noted. In addition Health Sciences with full scholarship from Ministry of Education, Nepal. Now he is a Pathology Officer at Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences, Western Regional Hospital Nepal. He has also published two books from Samikshya Publication. Modic changes were identified by reviewing pre-operative MRI scans and correlated against culture results.

Author(s): Matthew Chan

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