Enterococcus gallinarum causing cervical vertebral osteomyelitis: Imagery detecting the process of rapid progression of degeneration-like change in 3 months

We present a series of images of X-rays and MRI of vertebral osteomyelitis caused by Enterococcus gallinarum in a 65-year-old patient with persistent neck pain and fever accompanied by preceding transient biliary enzymes elevation. Images detected progression of degeneration-like changes of C5–7 in three months, which is too rapid for true degeneration and relatively slow for vertebral osteomyelitis of common pathogens. Though initial imagery evaluation detected merely degenerative change, the patient was followed up monthly because of persistent fever. Three months later, the images detected the typical imagery of vertebral osteomyelitis i.e., the destruction of vertebral bone: narrowing of intervertebral spaces with focal osteosclerosis and osteolysis on C5–7 became prominent. At this point, consultation to general internal medicine was made. With grade 3 regurgitation murmur, transthoracic echocardiography was performed and revealed 14-mm-in-diameter vegetation on aortic valve. Blood cultures detected Enterococcus gallinarum of which suspected entry was biliary tract. No previous case reports of Enterococcus gallinarum referred to vertebral osteomyelitis. While this case showed a typical clinical course of infective endocarditis, the course of progression of vertebral osteomyelitis and perhaps endocarditis was much slower comparing to common pathogens. This might reflect the relatively non-life-threatening features of this organism. Enterococcus gallinarum shows mild resistance to vancomycin and cephalosporins, initial therapy sometimes fails. Enterococcus gallinarum should be newly added to pathogenic candidates of vertebral osteomyelitis especially when feverish patients shows back or neck pain with preceding biliary tract problems.