What is the most common cause of discitis?

What is the most common cause of discitis?

Discitis is usually caused by an infection that develops in one of the spine’s vertebral bones and/or intervertebral discs. Often, discitis is a bacterial infection, but it may be viral.

Can you fully recover from discitis?

Treatment. Discitis is treatable and usually results in an uncomplicated cure. However, it takes a very long course of antibiotic therapy that is usually given intravenously every day at an infusion center. The standard therapy requires six to eight weeks of this intravenous antibiotic therapy.

Can discitis cause sciatica?

Disorders affecting intervertebral discs include disc herniation (prolapsed intervertebral disc), degenerative disc disease and infection (discitis). Spinal disc problems can lead to symptoms of back pain and/or sciatica.

Why is discitis so painful?

Discitis, or diskitis, is inflammation that develops between the intervertebral discs of your spine. These discs are located between your vertebrae. The spaces between them are called intervertebral disc spaces. Swelling in these spaces can put pressure on the discs, leading to pain.

What happens if discitis is not treated?

Discitis is an infection of the intervertebral disc space that can lead to paralysis, sepsis, epidural abscess, or other life-threatening complications if left untreated and may sometimes present with limited laboratory abnormalities to clue a diagnosis.

Can discitis cause paralysis?

Discitis is an infection of the intervertebral disc space that can lead to paralysis, sepsis, epidural abscess, or other life- threatening complications if left untreated [1–4].

What does discitis look like on MRI?

The most reliable MRI findings in discitis are hyperintensity of the disc on T2-weighted imaging (sensitivity 93%); the presence of paraspinous or epidural inflammation/abscess, (sensitivity 98%); and contrast enhancement of the disc and adjacent bone marrow (sensitivity 95%).

What happens if you don’t get surgery for a herniated disc?

In severe cases, people with a herniated disc may require surgery if more conservative treatments fail to improve their symptoms. If allowed to go untreated, a herniated disc can worsen over time, leading to chronic pain and discomfort.

Can a herniated disc stop you from walking?

Many people experience disc herniation with no pain or symptoms. However, a slipped disc can also cause significant pain, weakness and difficulty walking or standing.

Is discitis serious?

Discitis is a serious but uncommon medical diagnosis. It is an infection of the intervertebral disc space. The role of the intervertebral discs is to separate and cushion the spinal segments from each other. An infection, and thus inflammation of these discs can cause much pain and discomfort.

Is discitis fatal?

Relatively uncommon, only one out of every 100,000 people in the U.S. will develop discitis. It is more common in children and adolescents, but can still occur in adults. Despite treatment advances, discitis remains potentially deadly.