The Diagnosis and Management of Pediatric Spine Infections.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-30-2021

Publication Title

Cureus

Abstract

The management of pediatric spine infections requires a multidisciplinary approach that includes orthopedic surgeons, infectious disease specialists, interventional radiologists, and others. The prevalence of the disease has increased in frequency, virulence, and degree of soft tissue involvement over the past several years; there has also been a resurgence of some types of infections, such as tuberculosis, fungal, and viral pathogens. The diagnosis can often be reached with a detailed history, physical examination, laboratory tests, and imaging studies. Pathologies mimicking infection require a more invasive approach for diagnosis, including core or open biopsy. The treatment of discitis, spondylodiscitis, vertebral osteomyelitis, spinal epidural, and intramedullary abscesses in children is at times complex, and although many infections can be treated non-surgically with antibiotic therapy, some more extensive infections require surgical management. A timely diagnosis is important as it allows the initiation of the appropriate antimicrobial therapy and would decrease the complexity of the subsequent surgical intervention.

Volume

13

Issue

7

First Page

e16748

Last Page

16748

DOI

10.7759/cureus.16748

ISSN

2168-8184

PubMed ID

34345570

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