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Relationship between annular tear and presence of Propionibacterium acnes in lumbar intervertebral disc

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Abstract

Purpose

Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) in the intervertebral disc may result in low back pain. The purpose of this study was to determine how P. acnes accesses the disc.

Methods

Patients with low back pain and/or sciatica were examined using X-ray and MRI before surgery. The intervertebral disc space height was measured on X-ray image. Disc and muscle samples were obtained from 46 patients undergoing discectomy at the lumbar spine. The tear of annulus was inspected before discectomy. In the disc and muscle tissue cultures, 16S rDNA gene specific for P. acnes was examined using PCR.

Results

The discs from 11 (23.9 %) patients were identified as 16S rDNA positive, in which two patients also had 16S rDNA in their muscles. 16S rDNA gene was significantly more likely to appear in the discs with annular tear than those without tear (P < 0.05). The disc space height was significantly decreased when the disc contained P. acnes.

Conclusion

P. acnes is significantly more likely to be present in herniated discs with an annular tear than in herniated discs without such a tear. Since in the vast majority of these cases, no P. acnes was found in control muscle samples, a true infection with P. acnes is far more likely than a contamination.

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Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Orthopedics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 197 Ruijin Er Road, Shanghai, 200025, People’s Republic of China

      Zezhu Zhou, Zhe Chen, Peng Cao, Yu Liang, Xingkai Zhang, Wenjian Wu & Shijing Qiu

    2. Shanghai Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Bone and Joint Diseases with Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

      Zezhu Zhou, Zhe Chen, Peng Cao, Yu Liang, Xingkai Zhang, Wenjian Wu & Shijing Qiu

    3. Department of Orthopedics Ruijin Hospital North, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

      Yuehuan Zheng

    4. Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

      Jiaqi Xiao

    5. Bone and Mineral Research Laboratory, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, USA

      Shijing Qiu

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    1. Zezhu Zhou
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    Correspondence to Peng Cao or Shijing Qiu.

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    Z. Zhou and Z. Chen contributed equally.

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    Zhou, Z., Chen, Z., Zheng, Y. et al. Relationship between annular tear and presence of Propionibacterium acnes in lumbar intervertebral disc. Eur Spine J 24, 2496–2502 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-015-4180-y

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-015-4180-y

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