Pyogenic Spondylitis and Diskitis Caused by Helicobacter cinaedi in an Immunocompetent Adult Patient.

We herein describe the first reported case of pyogenic spondylitis and diskitis caused by Helicobacter cinaedi. The results of magnetic resonance imaging and the histology of biopsied tissue were suggestive of acute infection at the lumbar spine. The pathogen was obtained by a blood culture examination and identified by 16S rRNA analysis. Eight weeks of antibiotics therapy resulted in a good clinical course. H. cinaedi infections have been increasingly reported in recent years, but the pathogen's epidemiological and pathological characteristics are still unclear. One of the difficulties in understanding the pathogenesis of H. cinaedi has been the challenges in cultivating the pathogen. Novel strategies for the diagnosis of H. cinaedi must be developed.

Acute thoracic myelopathy after a traumatic episode in a patient with neurofibromatosis associated with sharply angular scoliosis: a case report.

We treated a 16-year-old boy with acute thoracic myelopathy due to sharply angular scoliosis. The patient underwent posterior decompression and posterior spinal fusion using Luque spinal segmental instrumentation. Postoperatively, spasticity increased, and voluntary movement of the lower extremities disappeared. The patient could walk without assistive devices 5 months postoperatively. As pseudarthrosis at the posterior fusion site was suspected, anterior spinal fusion was performed using a fibular bone strut. His neurologic deficits were completely alleviated, and bony union was obtained. In our case, paraparesis followed relatively mild trauma because the spinal cord was predisposed to injury by continuous mechanical compression, although the cause of the severe temporary deficits following the first operation was not identified.