VERTEBRAL OSTEOMYELITIS DUE TO CAPNOCYTOPHAGA

The first case of vertebral Capnocytophaga infection in an immunocompe tent subject is reported, The patient was a 75-year-old woman with low back pain and a decline in general health, Plain roentgenograms discl osed erosions in the upper endplate of L4 and the lower endplate of L3 with no lesions of the intervening disk. Magnetic resonance imaging c onfirmed that the disk was normal, The organism was identified only by a repeat vertebral biopsy with bacteriologic cultures in a CO2-enrich ed atmosphere, The patient achieved a full recovery, Patients with sus pected bone infections should be evaluated for portals of entry (Capno cytophaga is a normal inhabitant of the oral cavity) and should underg o multiple microbiological studies aimed at detecting a broad range of organisms.