Infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, especially carbapenemase producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, represent an urgent threat as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We present a 66-year-old male with spinal stenosis who underwent elective L2-pelvis posterior spinal fusion at an outside institution and rapidly developed a complicated infection w...

The mouse hind footpad inoculation model has served as a standard laboratory system for the study of the neuropathogenesis of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection. The temporal and spatial distribution of viral antigen, known as the transneuronal spread phenotype, has not previously been described; nor is it understood why mice develop paralysis in an infection that involves sensory ne...

UNLABELLED Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major risk factor for surgical site infection (SSI). Spinal surgeries are also associated with an increased risk of SSI. To confirm previous reports we evaluated the association of DM with spine infection in 195 patients who underwent elective posterior instrumented lumbar arthrodesis over a 5-year period: 30 with DM and 165 without. Other known risk facto...

A 7 year old child perinatally infected with HIV who died from progressive muscular paralysis and central nervous respiratory failure is described. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis with a special intravenous CMV hyper-immunoglobulin had been successfully conducted for more than four years. Macroscopic and microscopic immunohistochemical examination of the spinal cord revealed a diffuse CMV inf...

BACKGROUND Longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis is characterized by contiguous inflammatory lesion of spinal cord involving three or more spinal segments. It is a well-recognized but rare presentation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. CASE DESCRIPTION We report a case of young boy diagnosed with multiple brain tuberculomas. He was on antitubercular drugs therapy for 2 months an...

Coccidioides species are endemic to the southwestern United States and typically cause a mild or asymptomatic primary infection. In some instances, infection can disseminate and involve the central nervous system with meningitis being the most common manifestation. Non-osseous spinal cord involvement is exceedingly rare. We report a case of disseminated coccidioidomycosis in an otherwise health...

BACKGROUND Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection that is endemic to parts of the Southwestern United States. When infection involves the spine, the treatment strategies can be challenging. We have devised a management protocol for spinal coccidioidomycosis based on a review of the literature and our experience. METHODS The electronic literature search of National Library of Medicine for pu...

As a cause of revision spinal surgery, spinal epidural abscess after instrumentation-assisted fusion is rare in neurosurgical practice. Postoperative infections are frequently seen in the time period soon after surgery. The authors report on the case of a 45-year-old woman who had undergone posterior instrumentation-augmented fusion for L4-5 degenerative spondylolisthesis. Ten months after the ...

We present case of nosocomial bacterial meningitis, caused by Serratia marcescens (ESBL), occurred following spinal anaesthesia. Although very rare bacterial meningitis is serious complication of spinal anaesthesia and early diagnosis as well as effective treatment is extremely important. Previously healthy individual, admitted to Orthopaedic Department for routine arthroscopy, approximately wi...

RATIONALE Bacterial meningitis (BM) has been recognized as a rare complication of spinal surgery. However, there are few reports on the management of postoperative BM in patients who have undergone spinal surgery. The initial approach to the treatment of patients suspected with acute BM depends on the stage at which the syndrome is recognized, the speed of the diagnostic evaluation, and the nee...