Resumen

Fungal infections of the spine are very rare and usually seen in immunocompromised patients. Acute cauda equina syndrome presenting in an immunocompetent patient is usually due to a prolapse of the intervertebral disc. Infective pathology caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis with epidural collection can also have a similar presentation. We present a case of spinal epidural abscess caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, presenting as acute cauda equina syndrome. To the best of our knowledge, spinal aspergillosis presenting as cauda equina syndrome in an immunocompetent patient has not been reported before in the English-language based medical literature. Surgical decompression with antifungal treatment with oral itraconazole yielded a good recovery.

Palabras clave: Cauda equina syndrome fungal epidural abscess vertebral osteomyelitis aspergillosis laminectomy.

2011-04-18   |   352 visitas   |   Evalua este artículo 0 valoraciones

Vol. 5 Núm.1. Enero 2011 Pags. 79-82. J Infect Developing Countries 2011; 5(1)