Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with culture-negative pyogenic spondylitis.
| Characteristics | Total (n = 78) | Group A (n = 66) | Group B (n = 12) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 41 (52.6) | 35 (53.0) | 6 (50) | 0.847 | |
| Age, mean ± SD, years | 65.5 ± 13.3 | 64.5 ± 14.1 | 71.3 ± 5.7 | 0.108 | |
| Duration of admission, median (IQR), days | 23.0 (14.5–36.0) | 21.5 (11.2–34.0) | 57.0 (28.7–78.5) | <0.001 | |
| Transfer from other hospitals | 21 (26.9) | 15 (22.7) | 6 (50) | 0.075 | |
| Underlying disease | |||||
| Diabetes mellitus | 15 (19.2) | 12 (18.2) | 3 (25) | 0.691 | |
| Cardiovascular disease/Congestive heart failure | 9 (11.5) | 7 (10.6) | 2 (16.7) | 0.622 | |
| Malignancy | 7 (9.0) | 4 (6.1) | 3 (25) | 0.069 | |
| Liver cirrhosis | 3 (3.8) | 2 (3.0) | 1 (8.3) | 0.398 | |
| End-stage renal disease | 2 (2.6) | 2 (3.0) | 0 (0) | >0.999 | |
| Symptoms at diagnosis | |||||
| Fever, ≥38°C | 7/77a (9.1) | 5/65a (7.7) | 2 (16.7) | 0.298 | |
| Back pain | 75 (96.2) | 65 (98.5) | 10 (83.3) | 0.060 | |
| Neurologic deficit | 30 (38.5) | 23 (34.8) | 7 (58.3) | 0.196 | |
| Symptom durationb, median (IQR), days | 14.0 (5.0–39.0) | 22.0 (5.0–43.0) | 12.5 (5.0–19.2) | 0.403 | |
| Antibiotic initiation before obtaining cultures | 42/75a (56.0) | 34/64a (53.1) | 8/11a (72.7) | 0.328 | |
| Laboratory data | |||||
| WBC, median (IQR), /mm3 | 8,030 (6,527–9,575) | 8,030 (6,570–9,492) | 8,315 (5,942–10,177) | 0.967 | |
| CRPc, median (IQR), mg/dL | 4.1 (1.3–8.1) | 3.4 (1.2–7.5) | 8.8 (3.7–18.8) | 0.006 | |
| ESRd, mean ± SD, mm/h | 66.3 ± 28.5 | 61.1 ± 26.3 | 93.8 ± 24.4 | <0.001 | |
| Location | >0.999 | ||||
| Cervical | 1 (1.3) | 1 (1.5) | 0 (0) | ||
| Thoracic | 8 (10.3) | 7 (10.6) | 1 (8.3) | ||
| Lumbar | 50 (64.1) | 41 (62.1) | 9 (75) | ||
| Sacral | 1 (1.3) | 1 (1.5) | 0 (0) | ||
| Cervicothoracic | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ||
| Thoracolumbar | 4 (5.1) | 4 (6.1) | 0 (0) | ||
| Lumbosacral | 14 (17.9) | 12 (18.2) | 2 (16.7) | ||
| No. of involved vertebrae, mean ± SD | 2.3 ± 0.9 | 2.3 ± 0.9 | 2.3 ± 0.7 | 0.633 | |
| Associated abscess | 23 (29.5) | 18 (27.3) | 5 (41.7) | 0.322 | |
| Paraspinal abscess | 18 (23.1) | 14 (21.2) | 4 (33.3) | 0.457 | |
| Epidural abscess | 2 (2.6) | 2 (3.0) | 0 (0) | >0.999 | |
| Psoas abscess | 6 (7.7) | 5 (7.6) | 1 (8.3) | >0.999 | |
| Previous spinal procedure | 48 (61.5) | 37 (56.1) | 11 (91.7) | 0.024 | |
| Previous spinal surgery | 38 (48.7) | 28 (42.4) | 10 (83.3) | 0.009 | |
| Presence of spinal implant | 22 (28.2) | 16 (24.2) | 6 (50) | 0.087 | |
Data are presented as n (%) unless otherwise specified.
an/total with available information (%).
bMissing data in 31/78 (39.7%) patients: 27/66 (40.9%) in Group A, and 4/12 (33.3%) in Group B.
cMissing data in 1/78 (1.3%) patients: 1/66 (1.5%) in Group A, and 0/12 (0%) in Group B.
dMissing data in 3/78 (3.8%) patients: 3/66 (4.5%) in Group A, and 0/12 (0%) in Group B.
SD, standard deviation; IQR, interquartile range; CRP, C-reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate.