Brucellian Spondylodiscitis

Brucellosis spondylodiscitis (BDS) is the most frequent complication of human brucellosis. Its diagnosis remains difficult due to the slowness of bacteriological methods and the lack of specificity of serological and histological examinations, which justifies the interest of molecular biology, in particular PCR on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens (PFFP).The aim of this multicenter retrospective study, carried out on 26 cases between 2007 and 2018, was to analyze the radiological and histological aspects of SPDB and assess the contribution of PCR. The patients, with an average age of 54, were mostly serologically positive. Imaging suggested an infectious origin, and disco-vertebral biopsies were performed in all cases. Histological studies showed varied lesions, dominated by histiocytic granulomas, while culture was positive in only a limited number of cases. The diagnosis of SPDB is based primarily on serology, but requires a multidisciplinary approach integrating histological and PCR data.