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In the time from 1980 to 1987 58 patients underwent a conservative or operative treatment of spondylitis and spondylodiscitis according to the individual clinical and radiological features. In early or moderately advanced stages of the disease conservative therapy was performed. Under bedrest and antibacterial or tuberculostatic drug therapy bony fusion of the affected vertebral bodies was achieved in 50% of the pyogenic cases. In tuberculous spondylitis fusion rate was 83%. Persistent septic changes, progressive neurological symptoms and gross vertebral damage are indications for surgery. In those cases removal of the focus and intercorporal spondylodesis was performed. Bony union occurred in every cases. At follow-up examination, 3 years after the onset of therapy on an average, 42 patients had no complaints according to the vertebral column. As the results of our study show spondylitis and spondylodiscitis should according to the clinical and radiological features be lead to a differentiated operative or conservative treatment. Then good clinical results are to be supposed.

19 patients diagnosed as non-tuberculous infectious spondylodiscitis (NTIS) have been studied retrospectively over the last 10 years in three general hospitals. The etiology of 13 cases was confirmed (there were nine cases of Staphylococcus aureus, two of Brucella, one of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and another of Salmonella typhi), and the diagnosis of the remaining cases was based on clinical and radiological data as well as on the evolution with antibiotic treatment. The age of the majority of these patients ranged between 40 and 60 years (p less than 0.05), showing a clear predominance of males (p less than 0.05). The most frequently appearing symptom at the beginning of the disease was local pain which was observed in nine patients; the rest presented mixed symptoms which led to misdiagnosis at admission; an exploratory laparotomy was carried out in one patient. The interval from the symptoms' onset to diagnosis ranged between two and sixteen weeks, with an average of 6.8 weeks. The VSG had values between 22 and 148 mm during the first hour, with an average of 83.3 mm. Seven patients underwent surgery, six of them presenting paraparesis-paraplegia, while another presented cervical spondylodiscitis. One patient passed away, two persisted with paraparesis-paraplegia as an irreversible sequela and one with persistent local pain.