Prospective Observational Spondylodisicitis and Epidural Abscess(POSE)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A prospective, observational study exploring the medium to long term outccomes for patients with discitis.
IRAS ID
187542
Contact name
Ulrich Schwab
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 1 days
Research summary
Spondylodiscitis (SD) is a combination of discitis (inflammation of one or more intervertebral disc spaces) and spondylitis (inflammation of one or more vertebrae), the latter generally involving the areas adjacent to the intervertebral disc space.
An epidural abscess (EA) is a collection of pus (infected material) between the outer covering of the spinal cord and the bones of the spine. The abscess causes swelling in the area and can be a cause of significant pain and morbidity for patients affected with this condition.
There is a significant lack of evidence-based information on the diagnosis and management of SD/EA, highlighted by recent clinical practice guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America, in which the evidence grade of all recommendations was low [1]. In a recent prospective service evaluation we treated approx. 30 patients per year for SD/EA in NUTH. This pilot study is designed to assess the feasibility of recruitment to future observational and/or interventional studies to improve the evidence-base around SD/EA diagnosis and treatment.
1. Berbari, E.F., et al., 2015 Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Native Vertebral Osteomyelitis in Adultsa. Clin Infect Dis, 2015. 61(6): p. e26-46.
REC name
London - South East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/0558
Date of REC Opinion
23 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion