PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Thomas Noh
AU  - Thomas Marcus Zervos
AU  - Anne Chen
AU  - Mokbel Chedid
TI  - Treatment of a <em>Staphylococcus lugdunensis</em> cervical epidural abscess
AID  - 10.1136/bcr-2018-227449
DP  - 2019 Mar 01
TA  - BMJ Case Reports
PG  - e227449
VI  - 12
IP  - 3
4099  - http://casereports.bmj.com/content/12/3/e227449.short
4100  - http://casereports.bmj.com/content/12/3/e227449.full
SO  - BMJ Case Reports2019 Mar 01; 12
AB  - First reported in 1988, Staphylococcus lugdunensis is a virulent coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species often associated with endocarditis. This is the first case report describing this infection in the cervical spine. A 58-year-old, left-handed Caucasian woman with no significant medical history presented with neck and left arm pain. Neurological examination revealed mild left deltoid 4/5 weakness and myelopathy. She was found to have an epidural cervical spinal cord mass that was causing severe cord compression and underwent partial anterior cervical decompression of the mass. On entering what was believed to be the mass, yellow-tinged fluid was encountered. An abscess was immediately suspected, so the dura was not entered. The specimen sent for culture was identified a day later as S. lugdunensis. A two-dimensional echocardiogram was negative for vegetations. A peripherally inserted central catheter line was placed and the patient discharged on 6 weeks of physical therapy and 6–8 weeks of intravenous cefazolin.