Abstract
We report the case of a patient with tuberculous L1-L2 spondylo-discitis complicated by a spinal epidural abscess which extended anteriorly to the cord up to the low cervical level. Mild signs and symptoms of spinal cord involvement improved with antituberculous therapy; however, after seven months of therapy, the MRI appearance of the abscess findings was unchanged. An attempt at surgical decompression and drainage of the abscess was unsuccessful because of the presence of dense scar tissue.
Sommario
Riportiamo un caso di spondilodiscite tubercolare L1-L2 complicato da un ascesso epidurale sviluppatosi in sede anteriore al midollo ed esteso in senso craniale fino al livello cervicale inferiore. Il trattamento antitubercolare ha comportato un miglioramento dei lievi segni clinici di sofferenza midollare; tuttavia, dopo sette mesi di terapia, i reperti di risonanza magnetica erano sostanzialmente invariati. Un tentativo di decompressione e drenaggio chirurgico dell'ascesso è risultato infruttuoso a causa della presenza di tessuto fibroso cicatriziale.
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Pareyson, D., Savoiardo, M., D'Incerti, L. et al. Spinal epidural abscess complicating tuberculous spondylitis. Ital J Neuro Sci 16, 321–325 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02249108
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02249108