Candida lusitaniae discitis after discogram in an immunocompetent patient

Candida spondylodiscitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of seventy two studies

OBJECTIVES

Knowledge of Candida spondylodiscitis is limited to case reports and smaller case series. Controversy remains on the most effective diagnostical and therapeutical steps once Candida is suspected. This systematic review summarized all cases of Candida spondylodiscitis reported to date concerning baseline demographics, symptoms, treatment, and prognostic factors.

METHODS

A PRISMA-based search of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and OVID Medline was performed from database inception to November 30, 2022. Reported cases of Candida spondylodiscitis were included regardless of Candida strain or spinal levels involved. Based on these criteria, 656 studies were analyzed and 72 included for analysis. Kaplan-Meier curves, Fisher's exact, and Wilcoxon's rank sum tests were performed.

RESULTS

In total, 89 patients (67% males) treated for Candida spondylodiscitis were included. Median age was 61 years, 23% were immunocompromised, and 15% IV drug users. Median length of antifungal treatment was six months, and fluconazole (68%) most commonly used. Thirteen percent underwent debridement, 34% discectomy with and 21% without additional instrumentation. Median follow-up was 12 months. The two year survivorship free of death was 80%. The two year survivorship free of revision was 94%. Younger age (p = 0.042) and longer length of antifungal treatment (p = 0.061) were predictive of survival.

CONCLUSION

Most patients affected by Candida spondylodiscitis were males in their sixties, with one in four being immunocompromised. While one in five patients died within two years of diagnosis, younger age and prolonged antifungal treatment might play a protective role.

Vertebral Candidiasis, the State of the Art: A Systematic Literature Review

OBJECTIVE

In recent years, Candida spondylodiscitis has represented an increasingly emerging disease in clinical practice. This condition requires long-term antibiotic therapy and sometimes surgical treatments. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the epidemiology, clinical and radiological aspects, treatment protocols, and outcomes of Candida-mediated vertebral osteomyelitis.

METHODS

A systematic review of the English literature was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.The research was conducted on Medline, Cochrane library, PubMed, and Scopus using as search terms "vertebral"; "spinal"; "infection"; "spondylodiscitis"; "discitis"; "osteomyelitis"; "Candida"; and "Candidosis." A case of vertebral candidiasis that was surgically managed was also reported.

RESULTS

In total, 88 articles were included in our systematic review. Including the reported case, our analysis covered 113 cases of vertebral candidiasis. Candida albicans was isolated in 64 cases (56.1%), Candida tropicalis in 21 (18.4%), Candida glabrata in 14 (12.3%), and Candida parapsilosis in five (4.4%). The mean duration of the follow-up was 395 days. Finally, 87 (82%) patients completely recovered, ten (9.4%) died, and nine (8.5%) reported sequelae.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review summarized the state of the art on vertebral candidiasis, describing data on its clinical features, diagnostic criteria and current limitations, and treatment alternatives and their outcomes.

Candida Spondylitis Considered as Microbial Substitution After Multiple Surgeries for Postoperative Lumbar Spine Infection

Candida spondylitis is a relatively rare disease. The primary risk factor is an immunocompromised status. Here, we report an immunocompetent patient who developed Candida spondylitis. The patient was a 70-year-old male. After multiple surgeries, he developed a fever and was diagnosed with chronic pyogenic spondylitis of the lumbar spine, which was treated by long-term antimicrobial therapy. However, his back pain persisted and the inflammatory response was prolonged. We performed posterior thoracolumbar pelvic fixation with a percutaneous pedicle screw system to stabilize the infected vertebral bodies and simultaneously performed a full-endoscopic intervertebral disc biopsy to identify the causative organisms. Candida parapsilosis was identified from a fungal culture of the biopsy specimen. The patient was diagnosed with Candida spondylitis and started on antifungal treatment with fluconazole. His back pain disappeared quickly after surgery, and up to the time of this writing, the patient has continued to receive fluconazole. We attributed the development of Candida spondylitis to the patient's long-term antibiotic treatment of a postoperative infection of the lumbar spine, which was associated with multiple back surgeries. Fungal spondylitis, including spondylitis caused by Candida spp., should be suspected in patients, even immunocompetent patients, with intractable postoperative spinal infections and pyogenic spondylitis due to microbial substitution. Long-term antimicrobial therapy without definitive identification of the causative organism of a postoperative infection of the lumbar spine that is associated with multiple surgeries can be a cause of Candida spondylitis. A biopsy is strongly recommended for the definitive diagnosis.

2015 Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Native Vertebral Osteomyelitis in Adultsa

These guidelines are intended for use by infectious disease specialists, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, radiologists, and other healthcare professionals who care for patients with native vertebral osteomyelitis (NVO). They include evidence and opinion-based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of patients with NVO treated with antimicrobial therapy, with or without surgical intervention.

Postoperative initial single fungal discitis progressively spreading to adjacent multiple segments after lumbar discectomy

OBJECTIVE

To report multiple cases and investigate etiology of initially single fungal spondylodiscitis that progressively spread to adjacent segments following lumbar discectomy, resulting in multiple spinal involvements.

METHODS

From January 2005 to May 2013, ten adult patients were admitted or referred to our institution with postoperative discitis. Fungal infections were confirmed by microbiologic and pathologic examinations. The clinical appearance, radiographic features, and treatments of this pathology were investigated.

RESULTS

All the patients were previously healthy. The average interval between the occurrence of symptoms and primary lumbar discectomy was 61 days (range, 15-120 days). All the patients were treated with anterior surgical debridement, interbody fusion, and prolonged antifungal therapy. Three patients additionally received combined posterior instrumented fusion. Despite aggressive surgical debridement and antifungal therapy, spread of the infections to adjacent multiple discs was observed. No deaths, severe neurologic deficits, or deterioration of neurologic status were noted. The infections were completely resolved in all cases with spontaneous fusion within an average follow-up of 32.4 months.

CONCLUSION

Fungal spondylodiscitis after surgery represents an intractable and troublesome complication, and surgical debridement may not impede the progression of the infection in cases where an insufficient course of antifungal treatment is administered. Such cases may require prolonged antifungal treatment with regular consultation by an infectious disease specialist.