MRI of vertebral osteomyelitis caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria

Spine MRI of a 39-year-old immunocompromised man who developed Mycobacterium fortuitum spinal infection thought to be a result of paraspinal steroid injections for low back pain. The T2-weighted MRI image demonstrates enhancement within the L4 and L5 vertebral bodies consistent with osteomyelitis. Culture of a biopsy specimen of the vertebral bone grew M. fortuitum.