Table 2.
Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria in spinal infections
| Entities, complications, and primary source of infection (n = 187) | Gram-positive bacteria (n = 162, 86.6%) |
Gram-negative bacteria (n = 25, 13.4%) |
p-value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| SD | 105/162 (64.8%) | 20/25 (80.0%) | 0.172 |
| ISEE | 57/162 (35.2%) | 5/25 (20.0%) | |
| Sepsis | 81/162 (50.0%) | 13/25 (52.0%) | 1.0 |
| Septic embolism | 46/128 (35.9%) | 4/22 (18.2%) | 0.142 |
| Endocarditis | 23/139 (16.5%) | 0/22 (0.0%) | 0.046 |
| Relapse rate | 22/103 (21.4%) | 6/20 (30.0%) | 0.394 |
| Disease-related mortality | 9 (5.6%) | 1 (4.0%) | 1.0 |
| Source of infection (129/187, 69.0%) | |||
| Hematogenous spread | < 0.001 (1) | ||
| Gastrointestinal tract infection | 6/107 (5.6%) | 3/22 (13.6) | |
| Respiratory tract infection (pneumonia) | 15/107 (14.0%) | 1/22 (4.5%) | |
| Urinary tract infection (urosepsis) | 4/107 (3.7%) | 9/22 (40.9%) | |
| Skin infection | 34/107 (31.8%) | 3/22 (13.6%) | |
|
Foreign body-associated infection (joint replacements, venous access port, prosthetic heart valve, and screws elsewhere in spine) |
20/108 (18.7%) | 3/22 (13.6%) | |
| Odontogenic infection | 5/107 (4.7%) | 0/22 (0.0%) | |
| Retropharyngeal & prevertebral infection | 4/107 (3.7) | 2/22 (9.1%) | |
| Post-interventional | |||
| Epidural administration such as spinal infiltration (facet joint, epidural, periradicular) or epidural catheter analgesia | 19/107 (17.8%) | 1/22 (4.5%) | |
Bold values are significant results (p < 0.05) as indicated in the methods, SD: spondylodiscitis, ISEE: isolated spinal epidural empyema, *Fisher exact test