What is Spinal Infections?

Although rare, the last 2 years have shown a significant increase in number of patients with Spine infections, possibly secondary to Covid-19 infections. Spinal infections can be caused by a bacterial or fungal organisms which are usually transferred into the spine through the circulation from another region of the body. Tuberculosis is one of the most prevalent causes of spinal infection special in Indian and South-east Asian people.
Because of common blood drainage pathways between Spine and Pelvis, spinal infections can develop following a urological treatment. The lumbar portion of the spine is the most commonly impacted.
Pain, muscular spasms and local tenderness all point towards a spinal infections. These symptoms are usually associated with Fever, Weight loss, and Loss of appetite.

A simple spine X-ray may not be adequate for diagnosis, and your spine specialist may need to perform an MRI and CT scan in addition to blood tests to diagnose and assess the degree of the condition. A needle or Endoscopic Biopsy (day care procedure) is used to retrieve sample tissue for Microbiological tests to determine the organism and its sensitivity to Antibiotics.
Spinal infections is a medical illness and doesn’t require any major surgical intervention, unless the diagnosis is done at a very late stage where the infection itself has caused destruction of normal spinal structures and developed instability