Melampsora spondylitis presenting with unexplained low back pain: A case report

Background: Spondylitis is a spinal infection which has been increasing in susceptible populations globally. This disease is caused by various microorganisms. Fungal spondylitis is rare in clinical practice and is strongly associated with immunosuppression and diabetes. Here, we report a case of sus...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Weijian Zhu, Sirui Zhou, Zhihao Xu, Zhiying Yang, Jinming Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-11-01
Series:International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971224002960
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850203012421648384
author Weijian Zhu
Sirui Zhou
Zhihao Xu
Zhiying Yang
Jinming Zhang
author_facet Weijian Zhu
Sirui Zhou
Zhihao Xu
Zhiying Yang
Jinming Zhang
author_sort Weijian Zhu
collection DOAJ
description Background: Spondylitis is a spinal infection which has been increasing in susceptible populations globally. This disease is caused by various microorganisms. Fungal spondylitis is rare in clinical practice and is strongly associated with immunosuppression and diabetes. Here, we report a case of suspected ca Melampsora spondylitis. Case presentation: A patient was suspected with Melampsora spondylitis at the L3-S1 level. The patient received two surgical operations and antifungal treatments. The next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis of the tissue specimen obtained during the two surgical procedures confirmed the diagnosis of Melampsora spondylitis. The patient was successfully treated with voriconazole, vancomycin, and meropenem following surgical debridement with pedicle screw internal fixation. Conclusion: The diagnosis of fungal spondylitis is often delayed or missed. Physicians should consider fungal spondylitis in the differential diagnosis of neck pain to facilitate early treatment and prevent spinal cord injury and disability. Although fungal infections often occur in immunocompromised patients, fungal spondylitis has also been reported in immunocompetent patients in recent years. In addition, Candida albicans is usually considered a common bacterium in fungal spondylitis. This case underscores the need to develop more advanced diagnostic and therapeutic techniques to identify the pathogenic bacteria associated with fungal spondylitis besides Candida albicans.
format Article
id doaj-art-dad05799826a42fe9d2ee3a9a0df9d4f
institution OA Journals
issn 1201-9712
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series International Journal of Infectious Diseases
spelling doaj-art-dad05799826a42fe9d2ee3a9a0df9d4f2025-08-20T02:11:37ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases1201-97122024-11-0114810722510.1016/j.ijid.2024.107225Melampsora spondylitis presenting with unexplained low back pain: A case reportWeijian Zhu0Sirui Zhou1Zhihao Xu2Zhiying Yang3Jinming Zhang4Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Medical College, Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaDepartment of Respiration, Tongji Medical College, Liyuan Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Huaqiao Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, ChinaMinda Hospital of Hubei Minzu University, Enshi, ChinaDepartment of Orthopedics, Tongji Medical College, Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; Corresponding author.Background: Spondylitis is a spinal infection which has been increasing in susceptible populations globally. This disease is caused by various microorganisms. Fungal spondylitis is rare in clinical practice and is strongly associated with immunosuppression and diabetes. Here, we report a case of suspected ca Melampsora spondylitis. Case presentation: A patient was suspected with Melampsora spondylitis at the L3-S1 level. The patient received two surgical operations and antifungal treatments. The next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis of the tissue specimen obtained during the two surgical procedures confirmed the diagnosis of Melampsora spondylitis. The patient was successfully treated with voriconazole, vancomycin, and meropenem following surgical debridement with pedicle screw internal fixation. Conclusion: The diagnosis of fungal spondylitis is often delayed or missed. Physicians should consider fungal spondylitis in the differential diagnosis of neck pain to facilitate early treatment and prevent spinal cord injury and disability. Although fungal infections often occur in immunocompromised patients, fungal spondylitis has also been reported in immunocompetent patients in recent years. In addition, Candida albicans is usually considered a common bacterium in fungal spondylitis. This case underscores the need to develop more advanced diagnostic and therapeutic techniques to identify the pathogenic bacteria associated with fungal spondylitis besides Candida albicans.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971224002960MelampsoraFungal spondylitisTreatments
spellingShingle Weijian Zhu
Sirui Zhou
Zhihao Xu
Zhiying Yang
Jinming Zhang
Melampsora spondylitis presenting with unexplained low back pain: A case report
International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Melampsora
Fungal spondylitis
Treatments
title Melampsora spondylitis presenting with unexplained low back pain: A case report
title_full Melampsora spondylitis presenting with unexplained low back pain: A case report
title_fullStr Melampsora spondylitis presenting with unexplained low back pain: A case report
title_full_unstemmed Melampsora spondylitis presenting with unexplained low back pain: A case report
title_short Melampsora spondylitis presenting with unexplained low back pain: A case report
title_sort melampsora spondylitis presenting with unexplained low back pain a case report
topic Melampsora
Fungal spondylitis
Treatments
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971224002960
work_keys_str_mv AT weijianzhu melampsoraspondylitispresentingwithunexplainedlowbackpainacasereport
AT siruizhou melampsoraspondylitispresentingwithunexplainedlowbackpainacasereport
AT zhihaoxu melampsoraspondylitispresentingwithunexplainedlowbackpainacasereport
AT zhiyingyang melampsoraspondylitispresentingwithunexplainedlowbackpainacasereport
AT jinmingzhang melampsoraspondylitispresentingwithunexplainedlowbackpainacasereport