Melampsora spondylitis presenting with unexplained low back pain: A case report

The diagnosis of fungal spondylitis is often delayed or missed. Physicians should consider fungal spondylitis in the differential diagnosis of neck pain to facilitate early treatment and prevent spinal cord injury and disability. Although fungal infections often occur in immunocompromised patients, fungal spondylitis has also been reported in immunocompetent patients in recent years. In addition, Candida albicans is usually considered a common bacterium in fungal spondylitis. This case underscores the need to develop more advanced diagnostic and therapeutic techniques to identify the pathogenic bacteria associated with fungal spondylitis besides Candida albicans.