Copyright © 2006 Massachusetts Medical Society. Despite advances in medical knowledge, imaging techniques, and surgical interventions, spinal epidural abscess remains a challenging problem that often eludes diagnosis and receives suboptimal treatment. The incidence of this disease — two decades ago diagnosed in approximately 1 of 20,000 hospital admissions1 — has doubled in the past two decades...

We report a rare case of cervical spinal epidural abscess due to Klebsiella pneumoniae. While the most likely pathogen is Staphylococcus aureus, 2.5% of CNS infections have been attributed to Klebsiella pneumoniae. The source of infection in this case is suspected to be from cervical vertebra osteomyelitis/discitis that expanded to epidural space. Prompt drainage of the abscess by decompression...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Spinal epidural abscesses are major complications of epidural anesthesia, and their MR features have been reported. In patients receiving continuous infusion via an epidural catheter, MR findings may mimic those of spinal epidural abscess in the absence of infection. The purpose of this study was to assess the spinal MR findings associated with continuous epidural anesthe...

BACKGROUND Spinal epidural abscess resulting from piriformis pyomyositis is extremely rare. Such condition can result in serious morbidity and mortality if not addressed in a timely manner. CASE DESCRIPTION The authors describe the case of a 19-year-old male presenting with a 2-week history of fever, low back pain, and nuchal rigidity. When found to have radiographic evidence of a right pirif...

Kouki S, et al. BMJ Case Rep 2017. doi:10.1136/bcr-2017-219458 Description A 59-year-old patient was admitted to the rheumatology department with cervicobrachial neuralgia in the upper extremities and paresthesia. The symptoms appeared 3 months ago. Physical examination showed neck stiffness with decreased sensitivity in the territory of the C4 root in both arms. There was no motor weakness or ...

Gas-containing (emphysematous) infections of the abdomen, pelvis, and extremities are well-known disease entities, which can potentially be life-threatening. They require aggressive medical and often surgical treatment. In the neurosurgical field, some cases of gas-containing brain abscess and subdural empyema have been reported. Sometimes they progress rapidly and even can cause fatal outcome....

A 52-year-old male presented with acute purulent discitis and epidural abscess of the cervical spine manifesting as neck pain and slight fever, followed by sudden onset of quadriparesis. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging showed a low-signal-intensity area in the C6/7 disc space and epidural space ventral to the spinal cord with peripheral enhancement. Surgical exploration using an anterior approa...

A case of spinal epidural abscess following epidural anesthesia is described. Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance images were essential in diagnosis of the abscess without frank pus formation, in defining the extension of the infection, and in assessing the therapeutic effect. The patient was successfully treated non-operatively before neurological symptoms developed and full recovery was ac...

We present an interesting case of a patient who developed an epidural abscess caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis. This is the first report in the medical literature of a spinal epidural abscess associated with this organism. Diagnosis of S. moniliformis infection requires a high degree of suspicion, and a delay may be inevitable when a relevant clinical history is lacking.

Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) was first described in the medical literature in 1761 and represents a severe infection of the epidural space requiring emergent neurosurgical intervention to avoid permanent neurologic deficits [1]. Epidural abscess is a rare condition, with a reported incidence of 1 ± 2 / 10.000 of all patients admitted to hospital [2]. It is generally thought to be a "very rare,...