Abstract
The incidence of spondylodiskitis has increased over the last 20 years worldwide,
especially in the immunodepressed population, and it remains a complex pathology,
both in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Because clinical symptoms are often nonspecific
and blood culture negative, imaging plays an essential role in the diagnostic process.
Magnetic resonance imaging, in particular, is the gold standard technique because
it can show essential findings such as vertebral bone marrow, disk signal alteration,
a paravertebral or epidural abscess, and, in the advanced stage of disease, fusion
or collapse of the vertebral elements. However, many noninfectious spine diseases
can simulate spinal infection. In this article, we present imaging features of specific
infectious spine diseases that help radiologists make the distinction between infectious
and noninfectious processes.
Keywords
spondylodiskitis - pyogenic - spine infection - tuberculosis - modalities
