Vertebral osteomyelitis refers to an infection of the vertebral body in the spine.
It is a fairly rare cause of back pain, especially in young healthy adults. Generally, the infection is spread to the vertebral body by a vascular route. Malnutrition Cancer Intravenous drug abuse is a growing cause of spinal infections. Typically, the organism most likely to infect the spine is Staphylococcus Aureus , but in the intravenous drug population, Pseudomonas infection is also a common cause of spinal infection. The treatment for these two pathogens requires different antibiotic therapy.