Journal de la colonne vertébrale

Emphysematous Osteomyelitis - A Rare Cause of Gas in Spine - A Case Report

Abstract

Mahesh BH, Upendra BN, Vijay S, Arun Kumar GC and Srinivas Reddy

Emphysematous osteomyelitis is rare condition characterised by the presence of intraosseous gas. About 25 such cases have been reported in the literature with only 10 cases involving spine. These infections are commonly seen in elderly morbid patients and are highly fatal. We report a 65 year old female patient with history of sudden onset of back pain and weakness of both the lower limbs with radiological images revealing the features of emphysematous osteomyelitis of L5 vertebra, which was treated with surgical decompression and stabilisation, and post-operative antibiotics. We also review literature to describe the clinical and radiological features for diagnosis and the treatment options available for such infections.