[Acute Osteomyelitis Following a Closed Vertebral Fracture - Report of a Case and Review of the Literature]

We report a new case of haematogenous infection at the site of a spinal fracture. The patient developped a severe bronchopneumonial infection. After the trauma three weeks later he developped a severe but incomplete cord lesion due to acute vertebral osteomyelitis. The patient was treated with antibiotics. He made a slow, but uneventful and complete neurological recovery. 28 instances of osteomyelitis after fracture of which seven involved vertebral bones have been previously reported. The spontaneous appearance of haematogenous osteomyelitis in a fractured bone is a rare but not exceptional event.