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Unusual presentation of more common disease/injury
CASE REPORT
Spinal epidural empyema extending from a pleural empyema: case description and anatomical overview
  1. Gabriel Torrealba Acosta1,
  2. Sylvia Josephy Hernández2,
  3. Gabriel Castro Ulloa3,
  4. Greivin Rodríguez Rojas4
  1. 1Department of Neurology, Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, San José, Costa Rica
  2. 2Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
  3. 3Department of Anatomy, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
  4. 4Department of Pathology, Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, San José, Costa Rica
  1. Correspondence to Dr Gabriel Torrealba Acosta, doctortorrealba{at}gmail.com

Summary

We present a case of a patient with diabetes with a pleural empyema originated from a pyomyositis process established after a central line procedure. This empyema later on extended into the spinal canal deriving into an epidural empyema, leading towards a spinal neurogenic shock and death. We discuss the anatomical substrate for this extension as well as the anatomopathological findings observed in the autopsy.

  • Infection (neurology)
  • Spinal Cord
  • Pathology
  • Neurological Injury
  • Neurosurgery

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2017-222019

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors All authors have contributed to and agreed on the content of the manuscript. The respective roles of each author are as follows: GTA conceptualised the report and made substantial contributions to the design, drafting and revision of the work. SJH, GCU and GRR significantly contributed to drafting and critically reviewing the paper. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript and assume accountability for all aspects of the work.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Detail has been removed from this case description/these case descriptions to ensure anonymity. The editors and reviewers have seen the detailed information available and are satisfied that the information backs up the case the authors are making.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.