Letter to the Editor

Septic Discitis as a Cause of Intractable Back Pain: Déjà Vu.

Authors: Krzysztof M. Kuczkowski, MD

Abstract

I read with interest the article by Patel et al1 which describes an elderly immunocompromised man who developed intractable back pain following cytotoxic curative chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. I agree with the authors that septic discitis is an important, although often overlooked, differential diagnosis of back pain in immunocompromised individuals following chemotherapy, and should be seriously considered in any situation associated with bacteremia in these patients.


 

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References

1. Patel P, Olive KE, Krishnan K. Septic discitis: an important cause of back pain. South Med J2003;96:692–695.