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. 2022 Mar 2;14(1):32243.
doi: 10.52965/001c.32243. eCollection 2022.

An ominous cause of back pain: Vertebral Osteomyelitis

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An ominous cause of back pain: Vertebral Osteomyelitis

Trilok Stead et al. Orthop Rev (Pavia). .

Abstract

The authors present the case of a patient seen for back pain in the emergency department, initially discharged home with a diagnosis of musculoskeletal pain. He returned a week later and was found to have vertebral osteomyelitis based on a thorough neurologic exam. A review of ominous causes of back pain, including the elusive nature of vertebral osteomyelitis/diskitis is discussed.

Keywords: case report; diskitis; vertebral osteomyelitis.

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Figures

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Figure 1. Infographic summarizing ominous causes of back pain. Designed by Aanchal Shah on canva.com
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Figure 2. CT scan of the spine with findings suspicious for T8-9 discitis/osteomyelitis (arrow)

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