Murphy Donald R, Morris Nicholas J
Rhode Island Spine Center, Providence, RI 02860, USA.
J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2006 Oct;29(8):672-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2006.08.001.
The aim of the study was to discuss a case of cervical epidural abscess and present the clinical features and diagnosis of this disorder.
A 52-year-old man had severe neck pain for 1 week. He had a long history of chronic recurrent neck pain, including 2 previous neck surgeries. He was afebrile on each visit, but developed rapid onset of motor loss, which necessitated immediate magnetic resonance imaging referral. The patient died in the magnetic resonance imaging tube.
Because of the aggressive nature of the infection, causing death only 1 week after the initial onset of symptoms, there was no opportunity to institute treatment of the abscess.
Spinal epidural abscess is a relatively rare but potentially life-threatening disorder in which the most common initial symptom is spinal pain. Because of this, patients with early spinal epidural abscess will often consult a chiropractic physician or other primary contact spine specialist. It is important for clinicians to be alert to the diagnostic features of spinal epidural abscess so that early treatment can be instituted.
本研究旨在探讨一例颈椎硬膜外脓肿病例，并介绍该疾病的临床特征及诊断方法。
一名52岁男性颈部剧痛1周。他有慢性复发性颈部疼痛的长期病史，包括之前两次颈部手术。每次就诊时他均无发热，但出现了迅速的运动功能丧失，这使得必须立即转诊进行磁共振成像检查。该患者在磁共振成像检查管内死亡。
由于感染具有侵袭性，在症状最初出现仅1周后即导致死亡，因此没有机会对脓肿进行治疗。
脊柱硬膜外脓肿是一种相对罕见但可能危及生命的疾病，其最常见的初始症状是脊柱疼痛。因此，早期脊柱硬膜外脓肿患者通常会咨询整脊医师或其他主要接触脊柱的专科医生。临床医生务必警惕脊柱硬膜外脓肿的诊断特征，以便能够尽早进行治疗。
