Microorganisms causing pyogenic spondylitis: Comparison of community and hospital-acquired types

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureusPyogenic spondylitis is a common infectious disease caused by various microorganisms. It is difficult to predict the infecting microorganism at the time of initiation of treatment. Pneumonia is generally clarified into community or hospital-acquired types based on where the infection was acquired, and the infecting microorganisms are different for each type. We retrospectively analyzed 20 cases of pyogenic spondylitis treated in our hospital and categorized the cases into community and hospital-acquired types. We also identified the infecting microorganisms and the rate of sepsis in each type. There were 12 cases of community-acquired and 8 of hospital-acquired infection. The major infecting microorganisms responsible for the community-acquired type were Gram-positive cocci, and those responsible for the hospital-acquired type were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacilli. The rate of sepsis was significantly different for both groups: 16% for the community-acquired type and 75% for the hospital-acquired type. The classification of pyogenic spondylitis based on where the infection was acquired may be useful for predicting which microorganisms are responsible for the disease.

Atypical Findings on Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Patients with Active Pyogenic Spondylitis in Japanese University Hospitals

“…Taken together, these results suggest that the rate of pyogenic spondylitis may be higher in Japan. MRSA infection is significantly associated with immuno-compromised hosts, longer hospitalizations before infection, and longer antibiotic therapy (Tacconelli et al 2008;Yamada et al 2011;Sasaji et al 2012). According to the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2007, the average days of hospitalization in Japan was 35.7, whereas in the United States of America the average was 6.5, in the United Kingdom it was 7.0.…”

“…Such uncontrolled use of antibiotics can produce antibiotic-resistant mutated microorganisms (Tacconelli et al 2008). Longer hospitalization and uncontrolled use of antibiotics in Japan may result in high infection rates with methicillin-resistant staphylococci leading to spondylitis (Yoshimoto et al 2011;Sasaji et al 2012).…”

Infectious Spondylitis-Associated <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> with Virulence Gene <i>pvl</i> or <i>tst</i> Causes More Necrosis than Apoptosis in Human Alveolar Basal Epithelial Cell Line A549

“…Additionally, the pathogens differ between community-acquired (CA) and hospital-acquired (HA) infections. Gram-positive bacteria, including S. aureus, Streptococcus intermedius, CNS, and S. agalactiae, are responsible for CA infections (10/12, 83.3%), and MRSA and gram-negative bacteria are responsible for HA infections [8].…”