Clinical characteristics and risk factors of pyogenic spondylitis caused by gram-negative bacteria

Background There are limited data describing the clinical characteristics of pyogenic spondylitis caused by Gram-negative bacteria (GNB). The aim of this study was to investigate the predisposing factors and clinical characteristics of pyogenic spondylitis caused by GNB compared to Gram-positive cocci (GPC). Methods We performed a retrospective review of medical records from patients with culture-confirmed pyogenic spondylitis at four tertiary teaching hospitals over an 8-year period. Results A total of 344 patients with culture-confirmed pyogenic spondylitis were evaluated. There were 62 patients (18.0%) with pyogenic spondylitis caused by GNB and the most common organism was Escherichia coli (n = 35, 10.2%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 10, 2.9%). Pyogenic spondylitis caused by GNB was more frequently associated with the female gender (64.5 vs. 35.5%, P