[Antibiotics should not be used to treat patients with back/leg pain]. / Antibiotika ska med dagens kunskap inte användas vid ryggvärk ­ med eller utan benvärk.

This report is based on results from three research groups in Sweden (Fritzell et al), Denmark (Udby et al), and Norway (Bråten et al). The groups have conducted studies published in international journals in 2019 [8-10]. The results complement each other and strongly suggest that antibiotics, in the absence of clear signs of a clinically relevant infection (discitis/spondylitis), should not be used for back pain with or without leg pain. The Swedish study showed that bacteria found in the disc/vertebra during surgery are very likely due to contamination [8], the Danish study showed that patients with Modic Changes (MC) on MR in the long term were not associated with more back pain or functional impairment than in patients without MC [9], and the Norwegian study showed that antibiotics for residual back pain after previous disc herniation had no better clinical effect than placebo [10]. Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to public health today and in the future.