title: Candida albicans lumbar spondylodiscitis in an intravenous drug user: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Spondylodiscitis leads to debility, and few data exist on Candida spondylodiscitis in patients with intravenous drug use.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present a case of Candida albicans lumbar spondylodiscitis in a patient with intravenous drug use. This patient was treated with surgical debridement and 9 months of fluconazole therapy, and the neurological deficits resolved completely. The infection did not recur clinically or radiologically during 9 months of follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although Candida albicans lumbar spondylodiscitis is rare, Candida should be suspected as a causative pathogen in patients with intravenous drug use except for Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. As soon as Candida albicans lumbar spondylodiscitis is suspected, magnetic resonance imaging and percutaneous biopsy should be performed. Surgical intervention combined with treatment with antifungal medications can successfully eradicate the infection and resolve the neurological deficits.
authors: Chang-Hua
authors: CH
authors: Chen
authors: Wei Liang
authors: WL
authors: Chen
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan. 90211@cch.org.tw.
authors: Hua-Cheng
authors: HC
authors: Yen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015299:Discitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003932:Heroin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008161:Lumbosacral Region / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D003932:Heroin