Publication details
Letter to the Editor concerning "Bacteria: back pain, leg pain and Modic sign: a surgical multicenter comparative study" by Fritzell, P., Welinder-Olsson, C., Jonsson, B. et al. Eur Spine J (2019)
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | EUROPEAN SPINE JOURNAL |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00586-019-06237-1 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00586-019-06237-1 |
| Keywords | Back Pain; Bacteria; Humans; Intervertebral Disc Displacement; Leg |
| Description | We have read with interest the paper by Fritzell et al. which suggests the association of bacteria, especially the anaerobic bacterium Cutibacterium acnes (previously Propionibacterium acnes), with pain-generating degenerated discs is likely to reflect contamination arising from the skin. We find this view surprising given that the recent studies of Capoor et al. [1] and Ohrt-Nissen et al. [2] directly visualized C. acnes as a biofilm within surgically removed intervertebral disc tissue. Such observations are practically impossible to explain by contamination as this would require the contaminant to form a biofilm deep within a retrieved nucleus tissue fragment during the brief time between removal and freezing. Against this background, we would like to highlight a series of potential methodological limitations within the Fritzell et al. study that could impact on their final results and conclusions regarding the association of C. acnes with degenerated discs. |