Eikenella corrodens discitis in a habitual betel quid chewer: a case report.
METHODS
Case report.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the case of a patient who habitually chewed betel quid and presented with intractable lower back pain owing to L4-L5 discitis caused by Eikenella corrodens.


BACKGROUND
E. corrodens is a normal inhabitant of mucosal surfaces in humans, particularly the oral cavity. Vertebral discitis due to E. corrodens is extremely rare. Discitis caused by E. corrodens in a habitual betel quid chewer has not been reported thus far.


METHODS
A 52-year-old man had suffered from lower back pain for many years, and it worsened 3 months before admission. He had had severe periodontitis because of habitual betel quid chewing for over 10 years.


RESULTS
The patient underwent staged spine surgeries because of the coexistence of L4-L5 discitis and isthmic spondylolisthesis. Tissue culture revealed the presence of E. corrodens. One and half years after the operation, the patient was fully ambulatory but demonstrated mild atrophy in the right thigh compared with the left thigh.


CONCLUSIONS
E. corrodens discitis is extremely rare. We hypothesize that E. corrodens is a potential causative organism of discitis in patients who habitually chew betel quid.
Tsai
Johnlong
J
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, College of Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Chiayi, Chang Gung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Huang
Tsung-Jen
TJ
Huang
Chuan-Chuan
CC
Li
Yen-Yao
YY
Hsu
Robert Wen-Wei
RW
D001114:Areca / Q000009:adverse effects; D015299:Discitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D016124:Eikenella corrodens / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication; D008875:Middle Aged; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000209:etiology