SynthesisEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2022
Evidence for infection in intervertebral disc degeneration: a systematic review.
Synthesis in 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, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of Stand-Alone Cage versus Intervertebral Cage with Pedicle Screw and Rod Fixation in Dogs with Degenerative Lumbosacral Stenosis.Veterinary and comparative orthopaedics and traumatology : V.C.O.T · 2026Article
- Current cutting-edge omics techniques on musculoskeletal tissues and diseases.Bone research · 2025Review
- "Elucidating the immunomodulatory role of endocannabinoids in intervertebral disc degeneration".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
- 2bRAD-M reveals differences in microbial communities between Modic changes and disc herniation.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Comparison of Disc Degeneration between Pyogenic Spondylitis and Noninfected Lumbar Spondylosis: A Multicenter Retrospective Study with Propensity Score Matching.Spine surgery and related research · 2024Article
- Bacterial growth in patients with low back pain and Modic changes: protocol of a multicentre, case-control biopsy study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Modic change is associated with increased BMI but not autoimmune diseases in TwinsUK.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 · 2023Article
- The association between vertebral endplate defects, subchondral bone marrow changes, and lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration: a retrospective, 3-year longitudinal study.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 · 2023Article
- Gut-spine axis: a possible correlation between gut microbiota and spinal degenerative diseases.Frontiers in microbiology · 2023Review
- Preoperative Lymphocyte to Monocyte Ratio as a Predictive Biomarker for Disease Severity and Spinal Fusion Failure in Lumbar Degenerative Diseases Patients Undergoing Lumbar Fusion.Journal of pain research · 2022Article
- Immuno-Modulatory Effects of Intervertebral Disc Cells.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeBack pain is a major problem worldwide and is linked to intervertebral disc degeneration and Modic change. Several studies report growth of bacteria following extraction of degenerate discs at spine surgery. A pathophysiological role for infection in back pain has been proposed.
methodWe conducted a PRISMA systematic review. MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were searched with the terms Modic change, intervertebral dis*, bacteria, microb*, and infect*. Date limits of 2001-2021 were set. Human studies investigating the role of bacteria in disc degeneration or Modic change in vertebrae were included.
resultsThirty-six articles from 34 research investigations relating to bacteria in human degenerate discs were found. Cutibacterium acnes was identified in pathological disc material. A 'candidate bacterium' approach has been repeatedly adopted which may have biased results to find species a priori, with disc microbial evidence heavily weighted to find C. acnes.
conclusionEvidence to date implicates C. acnes identified through culture, microscopy and sequencing, with some suggestion of diverse bacterial colonisation in the disc. This review found studies which used culture methods and conventional PCR for bacterial detection. Further agnostic investigation using newer methods should be undertaken.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.