ArticleSpine2016
Propionibacterium acnes, Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcus, and the "Biofilm-like" Intervertebral Disc.
Article in Spine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence for infection in intervertebral disc degeneration: a systematic review.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2022Pooled it
- The bacteria-positive proportion in the disc tissue samples from surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2019Pooled it
- Intervertebral disc puncture predisposes the disc to Cutibacterium acnes infection via hematogenous and contiguous routes: a rat model study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2026Article
- Review
- mNGS technique was used to analyze the microbiome structure of intervertebral disc tissue in 99 patients with degenerative disc disease.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Article
- Preclinical development and characterisation of PP353, a formulation of linezolid for intradiscal administration.JOR spine · 2024Article
- Article
- PositiveJournal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Causal effects of skin microbiota on intervertebral disk degeneration, low back pain and sciatica: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2024Article
- Changes in the composition of the fecal metabolome and gut microbiota contribute to intervertebral disk degeneration in a rabbit model.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2024Article
- Efficacy of stepped care treatment for chronic discogenic low back pain patients with Modic I and II changes.Interventional pain medicine · 2023Article
- Prevention of implant-associated spinal infections: the GAID-protocol.Frontiers in surgery · 2023Article
- Anaerobic spondylodiscitis: a retrospective analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Article
- Gut-disc axis: A cause of intervertebral disc degeneration and low back pain?European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2022Review
- Frequency and characteristics of bacterial and viral low-grade infections of the intervertebral discs: a prospective, observational study.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2022Observational
- Different phylotypes of Cutibacterium acnes cause different modic changes in intervertebral disc degeneration.PloS one · 2022Article
- Manual Homogenization Improves the Sensitivity of Microbiological Culture for Patients with Pyogenic Spondylitis.Infection and drug resistance · 2022Article
- Sheep as a Potential Model of Intradiscal Infection by the BacteriumVeterinary sciences · 2021Article
- Pro-Inflammatory and Neurotrophic Factor Responses of Cells Derived from Degenerative Human Intervertebral Discs to the Opportunistic PathogenInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- The Prevalence of Bacterial Infection in Patients Undergoing Elective ACDF for Degenerative Cervical Spine Conditions: A Prospective Cohort Study With Contaminant Control.Global spine journal · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
designPatients scheduled for spinal surgery were screened prospectively for a microbial presence associated with intervertebral disc specimens. Inclusion was limited to patients requiring surgery for any of five conditions: study patients with cervical spine intervertebral herniation (IVH), lumbar spine IVH, lumbar spine discogenic pain, and control patients with idiopathic scoliosis/Scheurermann's kyphosis or trauma/neuromuscular deformity. Exclusion criteria included ongoing systemic infection, abnormal pre-operative white cell counts, documented or suspected spinal infection, or previous surgery to the involved disc.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to test for an association between the presence of a bacterial entity in operated discs and a diagnosis of pathologic disc disease. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: An association has been described between microbial colonization and progressive intervertebral disc degeneration in 36 herniation patients undergoing microdiscectomies. A total of 19 patients had positive cultures on long-term incubation, with Propionibacterium acnes present in 84% of discs. MATERIALS AND
methodsDiscs were harvested during surgery, using strict sterile technique. Each disc was divided, with half the sample sealed in a sterile, commercially prepared anaerobic culture transport container, and half fixed in formalin. Live specimens were cultured for bacteria at a university-affiliated laboratory in a blinded fashion. Fixed pathologic specimens were gram-stained and read by a board-certified pathologist.
resultsA total of 169 intervertebral discs from 87 patients were evaluated (46 males, 41 females). Positive cultures were noted in 76 of 169 discs (45%), with 34 discs positive for P. acnes and 30 discs positive for Staphylococcus. No pathologic evidence was seen of microorganisms, acute or chronic inflammation, or infection. Pooling the IVH and discogenic pain patients and contrasting them with control patients showed a significant association of IVH with positive bacterial cultures (χ = 15.37; P = 0.000088).
conclusionEndemic bacterial biofilms are significantly associated with IVH and discogenic pain. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: N/A.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.