Study design: Retrospective clinical study.

Objective: To assess the results of spondylodiscitis treated by surgery. To compare debridement and instrumentation with debridement without instrumentation.

Methods: Between February 1989 and February 2008, 29 patients with a diagnosis of spondylodiscitis underwent surgery. The mean age at the time of surgery was 57 years (range, 12–84). The average follow-up period was 8.4 years (range, 1–20). Pyogenic spondylodiscitis was diagnosed in 17 cases and tuberculous spondilodyscitis in 12 cases.

The results of 14 patients treated by debridement and instrumentation (Group I) were compared with 15 patients who received debridement without instrumentation (GroupII). The saggital angle, loss of correction and clinical results were compared.

Results: The clinical presentation was: intractable pain 20.7%, severe pain irradiating lower limbs 20.7%, pain and neurologic deficit 44.8%, pain and kyphotic deformity 3.4%, pain and psoas abscess 10.3%.

Preoperative punction CT-guided was performed in 51.7% of patients. It was positive in 26.7% of those patients.

Blood cultures were positive in 29.4% and intra-operative culture was positive in 53% of the pyogenic spondylodiscitis. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common organism.

The averaged onset of symptoms-surgery period was 6.75 months in tuberculous spondylodiscitis and 3.2 months in pyogenic spondylodiscitis.

Double-level spondylodiscitis was observed in 41.4%. The spinal region most frequently affected by spondylodiscitis was the thoracolumbar and lumbar spine in 66% of cases.

All of the patients with incomplete neurologic impairment showed improvement after surgery.

There were no recurrences of infection.

There was a statistically significant difference (p=0.011) in the loss of correction of saggital angle: more loss of correction in Group II 7.07° (range, 0°–17°) than in Group I 1.8° (range, 0°–5°).

The saggital angle preoperative/postoperative/3 months postop/6 months postop/12 months postop/ Final was: 14.42° /1.96° /2.75° /2.83° /2.92° /3.75° (means) in Group I.

−7.57°/–8.43°/ −3.21°/ −1.71°/ −1.93°/ −1.36° in Group II (in this group, there was a significant loss of correction between inmediate postoperative-3 months postop and 3 months postop-6 months postop).

There were statistically significant differences in operative time and in blood loss (more in Group I).

The preoperative Visual Analogic Scale score averaged 9 in Group I and 9 in Group II and improved to 2.4 and 2.33 after surgery, respectively.

Conclusion: Instrumentation in spondylodiscitis does not increase the recurrence of infection, and additionally it stabilized the affected segment maintaining the saggital angle. Instrumentation is recommended in tho-racolumbar spine, kyphotic deformity and in multiple-level spondylodiscitis.