Symptom	Possible aetiology
History of cancer	Metastatic spread of malignancy to the spine
Unexplained weight loss	Metastatic malignancy or chronic infection
Fever, night sweats and/or rigors	Spinal infection such as osteomyelitis, discitis, or epidural abscess
Trauma	Fractures
Neurological deficit	Any pathology resulting in compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots
Age < 40 years	Congenital deformity such as spondylolisthesis or scoliosis, infection and fractures