Answer to the Letter to the Editor of Zafar Ahmad et al. concerning 'antibiotic treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and vertebral bone edema (Modic type 1 changes): A double-blind randomized controlled trial of efficacy' by Albert HB et al., Eur Spine J (2013) 22:697-707

摘要

Thank you for your comments; we are happy that our papers have stimulated scientific discussions in the world of back science.Your question as to which drug to use is a very important and crucial question. You find it, "odd that we used co-amoxiclav to treat the infection, when clavulanic acid has little disc penetration. Amoxicillin would have been more logical, as it has a narrower spectrum, and is known to be effective against Propionibacterium acnes, although it too has poor penetration of the intervertebral disc"