A case of surgical site infection with severe spondylitis caused by Streptococcus gordonii in an adult healthy woman: how to apply medico-legal method to deny malpractice hypothesis in suspected healthcare-associated infection

Rocco Urso; Sossio Del Prete; Gianpiero D'Antonio; Letizia Sorace; Marco Albore; Giorgio Bolino

doi:10.1177/00258172241227658

A case of surgical site infection with severe spondylitis caused by Streptococcus gordonii in an adult healthy woman: how to apply medico-legal method to deny malpractice hypothesis in suspected healthcare-associated infection

Med Leg J. 2024 Apr 15:258172241227658. doi: 10.1177/00258172241227658. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Rocco Urso¹, Sossio Del Prete¹, Gianpiero D'Antonio¹, Letizia Sorace¹, Marco Albore¹, Giorgio Bolino¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Anatomic, Histologic, Medical-Legal Sciences and of Locomotor System, Rome University Sapienza, Italy.

PMID: 38619146
DOI: 10.1177/00258172241227658

Abstract

We describe a rare case of severe primary spondylitis caused by Streptococcus gordonii in a 45-year-old immunocompetent woman with no relevant comorbidities. The surgical site infection arose after a L4-L5 microdiscectomy and resulted in severe clinical disability. Allegations of possible negligence as the cause prompted a forensic review to clarify the original source and transmission of this uncommon pathogen, which dismissed its cause as due to malpractice during treatment.

Keywords: HAI; SSI; Streptococcus gordonii; medical liability; medico-legal method; spondylitis.