Invasive liver abscess syndrome accompanied by spondylodiscitis: a case report and review of the literature

A 65-year-old man who had diabetes mellitus was referred to our hospital due to fever and back pain. Laboratory findings showed liver dysfunction and C-reactive protein (CRP) elevation. Enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed multiple liver abscesses, hepatic vein and inferior vena cava thrombosis, and spondylodiscitis in the fourth lumbar vertebrae. Based on several detections of Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) in blood culture, he was diagnosed as having invasive liver abscess syndrome (ILAS), which is characterized by liver abscess and metastatic infection caused by K. pneumoniae. Despite the prompt improvement of liver abscess and thrombosis, after administering antibiotics and anticoagulant, spondylodiscitis worsened. Additionally, iliopsoas abscess emerged on repeated CT imaging. Lumbar laminectomy was needed as a radical treatment. We reviewed 12 cases of ILAS representing spondylodiscitis, and surgical treatments for spondylodiscitis were required in 7 of these cases (58%). When encountering patients with liver abscess and spondylodiscitis, we should consider the possibility of invasive disseminated K. pneumoniae infection, which is hard to treat with antibiotics alone and sometimes requires surgical treatments for spondylodiscitis.