Vertebral osteomyelitis may develop after trauma to the spine, post-surgery, or via hematogeneous spread from an adjacent site. If left untreated, this infection has high morbidity leading to spinal deformity, paraplegia, and even death.
Most cases of vertebral osteomyelitis occur in the lumbar spine (lower back). The next common site is in the thoracic spine (mid- and upper back), followed by the cervical spine (neck). Osteomyelitis may also occur in the sacrum (base of the spine).
An untreated spinal cord abscess can lead to spinal cord compression. It can cause permanent, severe paralysis and nerve loss. It may be life threatening. If the abscess is not drained completely, it may return or cause scarring in the spinal cord.
Osteomyelitis is a painful bone infection. It usually goes away if treated early with antibiotics. If not, it can cause permanent damage.
Vertebral osteomyelitis may develop after trauma to the spine, post-surgery, or via hematogeneous spread from an adjacent site. If left untreated, this infection has high morbidity leading to spinal deformity, paraplegia, and even death.
Osteomyelitis by definition is an infection and inflammation that takes place in the bone tissue and bone marrow. The infection can occur in any bone of the body and is most often due to bacterial infection. Osteomyelitis is a serious condition with a mortality rate of 1 in 5 people if treatment is not started rapidly.
In very rare cases, people with spinal cord injury will regain some functioning years after the injury. However, only a small fraction of individuals sustaining a spinal cord injury recover all function.
An infection results from bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites getting into the body. In some cases the body's immune system can fight it on its own, and in others the aid of prescription medications is necessary. However, in the most extreme cases infections can cause other ailments — including paralysis.
Strokes and spinal cord injuries are the top causes of paralysis. Other causes include: Autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Brain injuries, including conditions like cerebral palsy.
Vertebral osteomyelitis may be overlooked by physicians because of its rarity. Plus, its primary symptom—severe back pain—is often attributed to another more common spinal issue. Back pain due to this infection often starts gradually, and it gets worse at night.
Vertebral osteomyelitis affects an estimated 26,170 to 65,400 people annually. Epidural abscess is relatively rare, with 0.2 to 2 cases per every 10,000 hospital admissions. However, 5-18% of patients with vertebral osteomyelitis or disc space infection caused by contiguous spread will develop an epidural abscess.
Many bone infections are cleared with medication, surgery, or a combination of the two. However, for some people, osteomyelitis may never completely go away. The bacteria or fungi can lie dormant in the body and return, even after treatment.
Although osteomyelitis is a difficult problem, certain conditions make it even more difficult to address. Diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and radiation are all comorbidities that interfere with wound healing and therefore make the treatment of osteomyelitis challenging.
The infection spreads to the bone after several days or weeks. This type of spread is particularly likely to occur in older people. Such an infection may start in an area damaged by an injury or surgery, radiation therapy, or cancer or in a skin ulcer (particularly a foot ulcer) caused by poor circulation or diabetes.
For example, there are many infections that can affect the peripheral nerves and result in difficulty walking.
sudden weakness on one side of the face, with arm weakness or slurred speech – a stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA or "mini-stroke") sudden weakness on one side of the face, with earache or face pain – Bell's palsy. temporary paralysis when waking up or falling asleep – sleep paralysis.
A tingling or numbing sensation occurs in the body part before the complete paralysis sets in. You'll gradually lose function in a specific or widespread area of your body if you are experiencing paralysis.
Disability: In severe cases of spinal stenosis, a patient can end up permanently disabled. This may be through paralysis, or weakness so severe that it is impossible to stand and move as normal. It is not unreasonable to expect severe stenosis to lead to a person being bound to a wheelchair.
(CNN) — New research reveals how a medical device helped one man with paralysis walk naturally again, more than a decade after an injury.
A complete spinal cord injury causes permanent damage to the area of the spinal cord that is affected. Paraplegia or tetraplegia are results of complete spinal cord injuries.
Stage 4 pressure ulcers, the most severe, involve full-thickness tissue loss, with exposed bone, tendon, or muscle [6].
Chronic osteomyelitis is a relatively common infection and is often a lifelong disease.
The most common complication in children with osteomyelitis is recurrence of bone infection.