Management of Thoracic Spine Infections
Section snippets
Epidemiology
Vertebral osteomyelitis represents 2% to 8% of all cases of osteomyelitis.2, 5 In a review of 62 patients with hematogenous osteomyelitis, Waldovogel and Papageorgious reported a 19% incidence of vertebral osteomyelitis, third only to involvement of the femur and tibia.9 Although affecting all age groups, the disease has a predilection for the elderly; most patients are between sixty and seventy years of age.10 Severe sequelae such as paralysis are also more common in the elderly.11 In a review
Epidemiology
An epidural abscess is a pyogenic infectious process of the epidural space. The reported incidence ranges from 0.2 to 1.2 cases per 10,000 patient admissions to 7.3%.13, 26 Spondylodiscitis is more prone to result in epidural abscess in the thoracic and lumbar spine. The cervical spine has been the least common site of involvement.27 Neurologic deficit most often occurs with lesions in the thoracic spine by two mechanisms: first, the localized accumulation of pus may cause spinal cord
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