Spinal epidural abscess in patients on maintenance haemodialysis (a presentation of two cases).

Two cases of spinal epidural abscess in patients on maintenance haemodialysis, one of them secondary to infection in an arteriovenous fistula, are described. Both cases presented the typical symptoms known from the literature, but were diagnosed too late to prevent neurological sequelae. The condition is rare, but dialysis patients are to be considered a risk group because of their reduced immunocapacity and increased hazard of infection, especially fistula and shunt infections. Awareness of this, and knowledge of its early symptoms are required for timely neurosurgical intervention and thus prevention of irreversible spinal cord damage.