Brucellar, Pyogenic, and Tuberculous Spondylodiscitis at Tertiary Hospitals in Saudi Arabia: A Comparative Retrospective Cohort Study

INTRODUCTION: Spondylodiscitis is rare yet the most common form of spinal infection. It is characterized by inflammation of the intervertebral disk space and adjacent vertebral body. In Western countries, the incidence of spondylodiscitis is increasing. Clinical outcomes most commonly reported in the literature are the 1-year mortality rate (range, 6%–12%) and neurologic deficits. METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study assessed patients diagnosed with infectious spondylodiscitis who received treatment at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All enrolled patients were ≥18 years old and were diagnosed per radiologic and microbiological findings and clinical manifestations between January 2017 and November 2021. RESULTS: This study enrolled 76 patients with infectious spondylodiscitis, with a median age of 61 years. All patients presented with back pain for a median 30 days. Patients were stratified into 3 groups based on the causative pathogen: brucellar spondylodiscitis (n = 52), tuberculous spondylodiscitis (n = 13), and pyogenic spondylodiscitis (n = 11). All laboratory data and biochemical markers were not significantly different. However, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and white blood cells were significantly different in the pyogenic spondylodiscitis group, with medians of 121 mg/dL (P = .03), 82 mmol/h (P = .04), and 11.2 × 109/L (P = .014), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Back pain is a common clinical feature associated with infectious spondylodiscitis. The immense value of microbiological investigations accompanied with histologic studies in determining the causative pathogen cannot be emphasized enough. Treatment with prolonged intravenous antimicrobial therapy with surgical intervention in some cases produced a cure rate exceeding 60%.