Conservative therapy with appropriate
antibiotics is essential for most patients with infectious
spondylitis. Although most
antibiotics do not cause problems if it used properly and serious side effects are rare, side effects can occur with any class of drugs and adverse reactions of
antibiotics can range from mild
allergic reactions to serious and fulminant adverse events. These side effects are also extremely variable from patient to patient and from
antibiotic to
antibiotic. A side effect of
antibiotics may paradoxically increase inflammatory marker levels. Here, the author presents two cases of
antibiotic-induced increase in inflammatory markers in cured infectious
spondylitis. The patients were successfully treated after stopping the
antibiotic therapy. The differential diagnosis between
antibiotic side effects and
infection should be considered very carefully because the treatment is completely different. Although the exact mechanisms underlying successful treatment without
antibiotics are unclear, we should consider the side effects of
antibiotics when following inflammatory markers during treatment of infectious
spondylitis.