title: Management of nontuberculous infectious discitis. treatments used in 110 patients admitted to 12 teaching hospitals in France.
abstract: The optimal management of pyogenic discitis is not agreed on. No randomized clinical trials of short-course or oral antibiotic regimens have been published to date. To shed light on this issue, we reviewed the management of patients admitted for pyogenic discitis to one of 12 networked rheumatology departments. In this cross-sectional observational study, each department included the first ten patients admitted starting in January 1997 for treatment of pyogenic discitis. One hundred ten patients met the inclusion criteria, 67 men and 43 women, with a mean age of 60.6 +/- 13.7 years (range, 17-86 years). Mean time from symptom onset to diagnosis was 39.6 +/- 39.8 days (range, 24 h-240 days). Blood cultures were positive in 47.3% of patients, and the percutaneous discal and vertebral biopsy in 63.6% of cases; these two investigations identified the causative organism in 79 cases (72.8%). Mean duration of the rheumatology department stay was 31.3 +/- 14.1 days (range, 4-78 days). Antibiotics were given intravenously to 103 (93.6%) patients, for a mean of 25.5 +/- 17.6 days (range, 4-124 days); duration of intravenous antibiotic therapy was longer than 4 weeks in 36.5% of patients. Only seven (6.4%) patients received primary oral antibiotics with no parenteral antibiotics. One hundred patients were given oral antibiotics at the same time as and after intravenous antibiotics, for a mean duration of 87.2 +/- 43.6 day (range, 20-278 days); Bracing was used in 98 (89.1%) patients. Although antibiotic selection was rational and in agreement with current recommendations, wide differences were noted across centers regarding intravenous treatment duration, hospital stay duration, and total treatment duration.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Department in the Teaching Hospitals of Angers, France. erlegrand@chu-angers.fr
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Legrand
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Flipo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guggenbuhl
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Masson
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Maillefert
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soubrier
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Noël
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saraux
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Di Fazano
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sibilia
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goupille
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chevalie
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cantagrel
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Conrozier
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ravaud
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lioté
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015299:Discitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents