BACKGROUND: Intramedullary abscess of the spinal cord is a rare entity, especially in the setting of an intracardiac shunt, which, to our knowledge, has not been described in the literature. Here we present a case of an intramedullary spinal cord abscess in a patient with a patent foramen ovale. METHODS: The article includes a chart review and description of a clinical case presentation. RESULTS: A 59-year-old man was admitted with rapidly progressive quadriparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine demonstrated a large intramedullary mass extending from the level of C3 to C7. The patient was taken to the operating room for biopsy and surgical evacuation of the mass. Intraoperative pathology was consistent with abscess, and subsequent cultures grew Streptococcus viridans. On further workup, the patient was found to have a patent foramen ovale with right-to-left flow. Postoperatively, the strength improved significantly in all extremities with residual weakness. CONCLUSION: This is the first published case of an intramedullary spinal cord abscess in the setting of an intracardiac right-to-left shunt. Although intramedullary spinal cord abscess is rare, there are certain predisposing conditions that increase the risk of its occurrence.
BACKGROUND: Intramedullary abscess of the spinal cord is a rare entity, especially in the setting of an intracardiac shunt, which, to our knowledge, has not been described in the literature. Here we present a case of an intramedullary spinal cord abscess in a patient with a patent foramen ovale. METHODS: The article includes a chart review and description of a clinical case presentation. RESULTS: A 59-year-old man was admitted with rapidly progressive quadriparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine demonstrated a large intramedullary mass extending from the level of C3 to C7. The patient was taken to the operating room for biopsy and surgical evacuation of the mass. Intraoperative pathology was consistent with abscess, and subsequent cultures grew Streptococcus viridans. On further workup, the patient was found to have a patent foramen ovale with right-to-left flow. Postoperatively, the strength improved significantly in all extremities with residual weakness. CONCLUSION: This is the first published case of an intramedullary spinal cord abscess in the setting of an intracardiac right-to-left shunt. Although intramedullary spinal cord abscess is rare, there are certain predisposing conditions that increase the risk of its occurrence.
Authors: Christian D Cerecedo-Lopez; Joshua D Bernstock; Adam A Dmytriw; Jason A Chen; Joshua I Chalif; Saksham Gupta; Joseph Driver; Kevin Huang; Susan E Stanley; Jonathan Z Li; John Chi; Yi Lu Journal: BMC Infect Dis Date: 2022-02-10 Impact factor: 3.090
Authors: Redwan Jabbar; Bartosz Szmyd; Jakub Jankowski; Weronika Lusa; Agnieszka Pawełczyk; Grzegorz Wysiadecki; R Shane Tubbs; Joe Iwanaga; Maciej Radek Journal: J Clin Med Date: 2022-08-31 Impact factor: 4.964
Authors: Paulo Eduardo Albuquerque Zito Raffa; Rafael Caiado Caixeta Vencio; Andre Costa Corral Ponce; Bruno Pricoli Malamud; Isabela Caiado Vencio; Cesar Cozar Pacheco; Felipe D'Almeida Costa; Paulo Roberto Franceschini; Roger Thomaz Rotta Medeiros; Paulo Henrique Pires Aguiar Journal: Surg Neurol Int Date: 2021-06-14