Prevalence of Propionibacterium acnes in Intervertebral Discs of Patients Undergoing Lumbar Microdiscectomy: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

In a large series of patients, the prevalence of discs with abundant P. acnes was 11%. We believe, disc tissue homogenization releases P. acnes from the biofilm so that they can then potentially be cultured, reducing the rate of false-negative cultures. Further, quantification study revealing significant bioburden based on both culture and real-time PCR minimize the likelihood that observed findings are due to contamination and supports the hypothesis P. acnes acts as a pathogen in these cases of degenerative disc disease.