Spinal subdural tuberculous abscess.

OBJECTIVES

Spinal subdural abscess is rare and only 48 cases have been described to date. In this report, we present an additional spinal subdural tuberculous abscess.

METHOD: Tuberculous meningitis was diagnosed with clinical and laboratory findings in a 45-year-old man. A spinal subdural abscess was demonstrated using MRI. Presence of the abscess was revealed by surgical intervention. The diagnosis was confirmed by pathological examination.

RESULTS

The patient had been treated for tuberculous meningitis 2 years previously. The disease recurred when anti-tuberculous therapy was prematurely discontinued. During the second treatment, the patient also underwent a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt operation for hydrocephalus. Dizziness and weakness of both legs developed after the postoperative period. Spinal MRI showed a spinal subdural abscess as a iso-intense mass with spinal cord in the T1 and T2 weighted images, ring like enhancement and compression on the spinal cord at T3-T4 level. The patient underwent surgery and the abscess was drained.

CONCLUSION

Tuberculosis may cause a spinal subdural abscess and although it is a rare disorder, when encountered MRI is very useful in the diagnosis.