Espondilodiscitis por Enterococcus faecalis: análisis de un caso

An 85-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of disabling low back pain with onset 2 months previously. The patient had a history of recurrent lower back pain, hepatitis C virus infection and type 2 diabetes. Imaging techniques showed vertebral and discal involvement. Culture of the aspirated discal specimen revealed Enterococcus faecalis, which was also found in blood cultures, with the same phenotypic characters. After 6 weeks of parenteral antibiotics, bracing and physical therapy, the patient progressively improved and was followed-up on an outpatient basis. E. faecalis is a rare cause of spondylodiscitis, which may lead to this etiological agent being overlooked in favor of other more frequent etiologic agents.