Computed Tomography–Guided Spinal Biopsy in Suspected Infective Spondylodiscitis: An Institutional Review of Its Utility

Background Infectious spondylodiscitis is a debilitating condition and evidence-based medicine dictates confirming the diagnosis before treatment. Computed tomography–guided spinal biopsy plays a major role and hence we would like to determine its utility in current clinical practice. Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine the percentage of confirmatory positives of CT-guided spinal biopsy in patients who were clinicoradiologically diagnosed with infectious spondylitis. Material and Methods A retrospective analysis of patients who underwent CT-guided biopsy for suspected infectious spondylodiscitis from 2017 to 2021 in a tertiary medical center was done. The data were filtered and obtained from the electronic database of the institution. Results In all, 259 patients underwent CT-guided biopsy of the spine. The procedure provided confirmatory results in 149 (57.5%) biospecimens. Histopathology examination was confirmatory in 95 (36.6%) of the 241 biospecimens sent. The Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) was confirmatory in 51 (19.9%) of the 250 biospecimens sent and drug resistance was seen in 6/51 (11.7%) biospecimens. Xpert TB provided confirmatory results in 72 (27.8%) of the 254 biospecimens sent and rifampicin resistance was seen in 16/72 (22.2%) biospecimens. Bacterial culture was confirmatory in 29 (11.2%) of the 250 biospecimens sent. The complication documented in this study was 0.3%. Conclusion CT-guided spinal biopsy for suspected vertebral osteomyelitis is a safe and effective minimally invasive procedure. It demonstrates a positive yield in more than half of the patients. Knowing the outcome, the patients can be appropriately counseled prior to the procedure. CT-guided biopsy results were affected by prior administration of ATT (antitubercular therapy) in suspected tuberculous spondylitis patients.