[Postoperative lumbar discitis. Types, diagnosis and treatment].

Medical reports of 17 patients with discitis after lumbar disc operation (PD) were analyzed retrospectively. None of the patients had had previous lumbar disc operations. The diagnosis was confirmed by laminar tomography. The prevalence of PD was 2.75%. We found indications of bacterial infection in 82% of the cases. For all patients the infection was long lasting, with hospital contact for a mean period of eight months. PD was classified into three categories according to symptoms and laboratory investigations (ESR, CRP, WBC and alkaline phosphatase): type I = acute septic PD (53%), type II = subacute septic PD (29%), and type III = aseptic PD (18%). For PD type I and type II we recommend that antibiotics be administered intravenously until a fall in ESR and CRP are seen, followed by peroral antibiotics until normalisation. For all three types immobilisation of the back and analgetics are necessary.