Editorial: Pyogenic Arthritis of the Facet Joints: A Growing Problem for Patients, A Growing Concern for Clinicians

摘要

Spinal infections include a spectrum of conditions including spondylitis, discitis, spondylodiscitis, pyogenic facet arthropathy, epidural infections, meningitis, polyradiculopa-thy, and myelitis (1).Pyogenic arthritis of the facet joints, also called pyogenic facet joint infection (PFJI), has been considered a rare clinical entity until recently, but is emerging as a condition of growing importance (2,3). The etiology of spontaneous PFJI is typically Staphylococcus aureus, which accounts for 86% of the reported cases (2). Classically, infection of the spinal column occurs through hematogenous, bacterial seeding of the relatively avascular vertebral endplate with subsequent colonization of this area. The lumbosacral region is affected in the majority of the cases, the cervical spine in 10%, and the thoracic spine in 5%. The most commonly involved site is the L4-L5 level, followed by the L3-L4 level, and L5-S1 level.