Abstract

Background

Subdural spinous abscess is a rare pathology that carries significant morbidity if not diagnosed and treated early; of the cases reported in the literature, very few are genuinely spontaneous in nature.

Case presentation

Here we demonstrate the case of an otherwise entirely fit and well 56-year-old White, British female presenting with low back pain, bilateral sciatica and sensate urinary retention; lumbar subdural spinous abscess was diagnosed on urgent magnetic resonance imaging and the patient was successfully managed with surgical evacuation and prolonged antibiotic therapy. The patient made a full neurological recovery and was followed-up in the outpatient setting 12 weeks following her initial surgery; she was pain free with normal inflammatory markers and a normal neurological examination. There have been no further consultations and a telephone call at 20 weeks confirmed that she remains well.

Conclusions

This is the second case reported in the literature of a genuinely spontaneous subdural spinous abscess, which was successfully managed with surgical evacuation following prompt diagnosis. This highlights the need to ensure infective pathologies are kept at the back of one’s mind even in the most unlikely circumstances, and that excellent outcomes can be achieved with early surgical intervention.

Details

Title
Spontaneous lumbar intraspinal subdural abscess: a case report
Author
MacCormac, Oscar James; Berjaoui, Nabih; Mizzi, Sean; Wang, Difei; Patel, Sabina; Qusai Al Banna; Bleil, Cristina
Pages
1-5
Section
Case report
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
BioMed Central
e-ISSN
17521947
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2803055792
Copyright
© 2023. This work is licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.