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PubMed1995

[Spinal epidural abscess].

The aspecific spinal epidural abscess is an uncommon cause of the spinal cord compression. Forty eight patients presented with epidural abscess were operated on during the last 37-year-period in the National Institute of Neurosurgery Budapest. Experiences with the diagnostic methods and the results of the treatment of these patients are analysed. Based on the case history data, preoperative symptoms and operative findings 31 male and 17 female patients (their age ranged from 15-64 years) have been selected in acute, subacute and chronic groups. Localized backpain, acceleration of the blood sedimentation, leukocytosis and fever were significant findings which were followed by sings of radicular or medullary compression. This clinical picture developed rapidly in the acute group. Aspecific abscess most commonly appeared in thoracal or lumbal localisation and was rarely found in the ventral area. Staphylococcus aureus was the causative organism in nearly 100 percent of the cases. Surgery carried out before the onset of the neurological deficits according to proper CSF examination and myelography, proved to be favourable. Early diagnosis and emergency operation led to a significant improvement of the outcome.

Abscess↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Spinal epidural abscess in adults.

Spinal epidural abscess is a potentially life-threatening disease that can cause paralysis by the accumulation of purulent material in the epidural space. Although modern diagnostic and management methods have improved the prognosis, morbidity and mortality remain significant. Outcome usually is determined by the rapidity of the diagnosis and initiation of appropriate treatment. A high index of suspicion is warranted when a patient presents with spinal pain or a neurologic deficit in conjunction with fever or an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging should be done in suspected cases to localize and define the abscess. For spinal epidural abscess associated with neurologic compromise, the treatment of choice is emergent surgical decompression and débridement (with or without spinal stabilization), followed by long-term antimicrobial therapy. In the absence of a neurologic deficit, medical management is an alternative to surgery when the risk of neurologic complications is low based on the location and morphology of the abscess, immune status of the patient, and virulence of the organism.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Surgical decompression: a life-saving procedure for an extensive spinal epidural abscess.

Extensive spinal epidural abscesses (SEAs) carry a high mortality rate. Traditionally they are treated non-operatively with long-term antibiotics and/or surgical decompression, but there is a continuing debate as to whether they should be managed by emergency surgical decompression. However, such decisions are made in the light of the clinical setting. We report the successful management of a female patient who presented with features of upper cervical cord compression and later developed septic shock and multisystem failure. Surgical decompression of the cervical spine and irrigation of the epidural space with a paediatric catheter was performed followed by tricortical strut grafting and plating. At review, 36 weeks after surgery, the patient remained asymptomatic, having made full neurological recovery. The purpose of this report is to highlight the importance of emergency surgical intervention for extensive SEA in the presence of progressive neurological loss associated with multisystem failure.

Abscess↗
PubMed1992

Surgical treatment of the spontaneous spinal epidural abscess.

Seven cases of spontaneous epidural abscess are reviewed. Three patients had posterior abscesses and no evidence of vertebral body osteomyelitis. These patients had excellent outcomes with laminectomies and antibiotics. Because of significant vertebral destruction, two patients with vertebral osteomyelitis required posterior fixation after laminectomy. Two other patients with vertebral osteomyelitis had complete destruction of the vertebral body and required anterior decompression and fusion in addition to posterior fixation. In the four patients with vertebral osteomyelitis, morbidity was high, reflecting their age and significant medical problems. This review supports the contention that medically stable patients with posterior epidural abscesses can be treated with laminectomy and antibiotics with little risk of progressive instability. The proper surgical treatment of anterior epidural abscesses secondary to osteomyelitis requires knowledge about the amount of destruction of the supporting columns, the amount of neural compression secondary to the purulence, and the patient's general medical condition.

Abscess↗
PubMed1971

Chemical epidural abscess: case report.

Spinal epidural abscess accompanies blood-borne infection, vertebral osteomyelitis, or an overlying cutaneous source of infection. This report documents the development of non-infective epidural abscess where the inflammatory response was induced by the highly irritant contents (keratin and cholesterol) of an underlying epidermoid. This was associated with aseptic meningitis.

Abscess↗
PubMed2005

Lumbosacral spinal epidural abscess caused by Brucella melitensis.

Spinal epidural abscess is a rare condition that can lead to irreversible complications and death if untreated. Rarely, Brucella melitensis may produce spondylodiscitis, which may be complicated by spinal epidural abscess. We report a case of lumbosacral spinal epidural abscess caused by Brucella melitensis. Spinal brucellosis should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of low back pain.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Epidural abscess presented with psychiatric symptoms.

Cranial epidural abscesses are unusual in neurosurgical practice. Mostly they are secondary to skull bone osteomyelitis of foreign body implantation as a result of trauma, or infection of paranasal sinus, otitis, and mastoiditis in adults or late adolescents. The purulent inflammatory process of the epidural abscess, thrombophlebitis of the venous drainage, septic thrombosis, direct extension into the orbit, carvenous sinus, superior orbital fissure give the epidural abscess a high mortality and morbidity. We present an interesting case, who has had psychiatric symptoms such as bizarre behavior, auditory and visual hallucination for about two years. Incidental brain computed tomograms, to exclude the organic-somatic disorder, revealed a huge brain abscess. Emergent surgical intervention was carried out and the episodes of talking to himself and auditory hallucination subsided. The removal of the epidural abscess eliminated the symptoms and cured the patient. All the right amygdata, entorhinal area, cingulate gyrus, hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus of this patient were compressed by the huge abscess. All these structures belonged to limbic system. Diseases involving the limb system may cause emotional disturbances, such as delusions, illusions and hallucinations, emotional lability, pathological laughing and crying, rage reaction and aggression, apathy and placidity, even endogenous fear, anxiety, depression and euphoria. Dramatic improvement of the patient was found after surgical removal of the abscess. We highlight this interesting case for it will undoubtedly bring together a large cooperation of psychiatrists, neurologists and neurosurgeons.

Abscess↗
PubMed2000

Prompt regression of paravertebral and epidural abscesses in patients with pyogenic discitis. Sixteen cases evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether spinal magnetic resonance imaging performed one month into anti-microbial therapy for pyogenic discitis demonstrated changes of value for predicting outcomes and making therapeutic decisions. METHODS: Prospective study of 16 patients with discitis. A physical evaluation, laboratory tests for inflammation, plain radiographs centered on the affected vertebral level, and magnetic resonance imaging with gadolinium injection were performed at baseline and on day 30. All 16 patients were reevaluated after three months and 15 after six months. RESULTS: The 12 men and four women had a mean age of 59 years. Fourteen patients had a paravertebral abscess (n=12) and/or an epidural abscess (n=6). On day 30, 14 of the 16 patients were clinically improved and ten were radiologically improved. The C-reactive protein level was still elevated in five cases. All reevaluated patients were improved after three months (16/16) and six months (15/15). Only two magnetic resonance imaging features improved during the first month: the size of paravertebral abscesses decreased in 11 of 12 patients, and the size of epidural abscesses decreased in four of six patients. CONCLUSION: Paravertebral and epidural abscesses improve promptly under antimicrobial therapy. However, the presence of these lesions have no prognostic significance. Magnetic resonance imaging does not add significantly to the follow-up of patients who respond clinically to antimicrobial therapy. However, in patients with an unsatisfactory clinical response, follow-up magnetic resonance imaging can provide useful therapeutic orientation by showing whether the paravertebral and/or epidural abscesses have decreased in size.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Spinal epidural abscess after corticosteroid injections.

Although spinal epidural abscess is uncommon, its incidence is likely to rise with increasing use of epidural injections for the control of lower back pain. We report a case of spinal epidural abscess after epidural steroid injection. The abscess resolved with conservative medical management.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1990

[Cervical spinal epidural abscess: case report].

Most cases of spinal epidural abscesses occur in a midthoracic or lower lumbar location. Cervical spinal epidural abscess is distinctly rare, and its prognosis is not favorable due to respiratory problems. We report a case of cervical spinal epidural abscess. A 77-year-old male was admitted because of tetraparesis and dyspnea. Two months before admission, he had been treated by femoro-femoral bypass for arteriosclerosis obliterans , and he had suffered from postoperative wound infection one month later. He had noticed neck pain two days before admission, followed by a numbness and motor weakness in both hands. Neurological examination showed flaccid tetraplegy with an absence of DTRs, paralysis of intercostal muscles, loss of sensation below the C4 dermatome, and bladder dysfunction. A spinal CT scan revealed a mass lesion in the anterior epidural space from C2 to C6, which displaced the spinal cord posteriorly. A myelogram showed complete blockage of contrast medium at the level of C7-T1. He was treated by emergency laminectomy of C3 to C6 with evacuation of the epidural abscess. Culture showed staphylococcus aureus, for which appropriate antibiotics were administered. In spite of such an intensive treatment, the patient showed poor neurological improvement and died 42 days after operation.

Abscess↗
PubMed2004

Extensive spinal epidural abscess associated with an unremarkable recovery.

Spinal epidural abscess is a rare complication of epidural catheter insertion, with an incidence reported to be as low as 0.02%, but with a high morbidity and mortality. This reflects the difficulty in diagnosis of the condition, as early symptoms and signs are usually non-specific with late neurological manifestations. We report a case of spinal epidural abscess in a diabetic patient who underwent splenectomy and distal pancreatectomy. Early investigation with magnetic resonance imaging was effective in demonstrating an extensive epidural abscess involving the thoracic spine, with extension to the base of the skull and associated cord compression. Extensive multilevel laminectomies with thorough irrigation and washout of the epidural space were successful in treating this patient and preventing the development of permanent neurological sequelae.

Adenoma↗
PubMed2006

[Candida spondylodiscitis and epidural abscess].

Candida spondylodiscitis associatd with epidural abscess is rarely seen. We present a patient with Hodgkin lymphoma who received chemotherapy and developed systemic Candida infection, which was complicated by Candida spondylodiscitis and epidural abscess.

Antifungal Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Cranial epidural abscesses: a case report].

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Cranial epidural abscess mostly follows sinusitis or mastoiditis, also open cranial injury or cranial surgery with iatrogenic infection. In our case the abscess possibly evolved from epidural haematoma and the process invaded frontal sinus and subgaleal space in the frontal region. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 22-year-old male after motorcycle accident 4 years ago, with signs of sinusitis frontalis and seizures, with CT confirmed epidural abscess. INTERVENTION: Craniotomy was performed and the abscess totally removed. Homogeneous bone was replaced at the operation. Good result, after 2 months without pathologic signs and correct postoperative tomography. CONCLUSION: We conclude on the basis of disease history and clinical evidence, that the most probable was transformation of the abscess from epidural haematoma end in long term period perforated through the frontal bone to the frontal sinus, and to the subgaleal space with signs of sinusitis at last.

Adult↗