PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - A.S. Wattamwar
AU  - A.O. Ortiz
TI  - Use of a Percutaneous Diskectomy Device to Facilitate the Diagnosis of Infectious Spondylitis
AID  - 10.3174/ajnr.A1828
DP  - 2010 Jun 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 1157--1158
VI  - 31
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/31/6/1157.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/31/6/1157.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.2010 Jun 01; 31
AB  - SUMMARY: For evaluation of suspected infectious spondylitis, 19 consecutive patients underwent imaging-guided spine biopsy with needle aspiration and a percutaneous diskectomy device to determine if the diskectomy device provided diagnostic value. In 79% of cases, the diskectomy device yielded a specimen when needle aspiration failed. A significantly greater yield of specimen was observed with the diskectomy device, and >50% of cases with failed needle aspiration had biopsies positive for infection.