Abstract
Background Despite advances, the morbidity and mortality rates of patients with spondylodiscitis remains high, with an increasing incidence worldwide. Although conservative therapy
has progressed, several cases require surgical intervention. However, the indication and opportunities for surgical treatment are still disputable.
Methods In a joint consensus, the members of the ‘Spondylodiscitis’ working group of the Spine Section of the German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery considered current
literature, particularly the newly published S2k guideline of the AWMF, and examined the surgical indications and treatment strategies for thoracolumbar spondylodiscitis.
Results Surgical intervention for spondylodiscitis is only required in a small percentage of patients. In studies comparing conservative and surgical therapies, most patients
benefitted from surgery, regardless of the surgical technique selected. Presently, the standard procedure is a combined dorsoventral approach, in which a monolateral attempt should always be
made. The choice of material (PEEK, titanium) for ventral support does not influence the clinical result.
Key words
spondylodiscitis - spondylitis - infection - conservative therapy - operative therapy
