Emerging treatments
Minimal access surgery
For patients requiring surgical intervention, the development of thoracoscopic and lumbar endoscopic access that may reduce post-surgical spinal instability is under investigation.[60] Percutaneous endoscopic debridement and drainage using different methods is becoming an effective alternative to open surgery in the treatment of spinal epidural abscesses.[61][62]
Patient-specific medical treatment
For certain patients unable to undergo surgery, some may receive a treatment regimen consisting of targeted antibiotics, and active monitoring by a spinal surgical team. This can be achieved with an early diagnosis, emergency magnetic resonance imaging, and radiologically guided aspiration/drainage in order to obtain high quality diagnostic culture samples.[41]
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