Infection & Discitis

What Is Discitis?

Discitis, or disc space infection, is an inflammatory condition that affects the intervertebral disc space located between two vertebrae, or bones, of the spine. Discitis may be caused by a bacterial or viral infection, or other inflammatory processes such as those associated with autoimmune disease. The condition most commonly affects the discs in the lumbar (low back) and thoracic (middle/upper) portions of the spine.

Discitis can be very painful; the pain also tends to be aggravated by movement of the spine and often radiates to other parts of the body such as the abdomen, hip, leg or groin.

How Is Discitis Diagnosed?

To determine if discitis is the cause of you or your child’s back pain or other symptoms, your doctor may prescribe one or more of the following tests:

• X-ray – to check for narrowing of the disc space between vertebrae
• MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) – to check for inflammation of the disc space
• Bone Scan – which may reveal increased uptake at the inflammation site
• CBC (Complete Blood Count) – to check for an elevated white blood cell count
• ESR (Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate) – to check for an elevated sedimentation rate, an indicator of inflammation