No abstract

Brucellar spinal epidural abscesses (BSEA) are rare and very few series of them have been reported. In order to evaluate the clinical characteristics, management and outcome of this entity, the clinical records and current status of a series of 11 patients have been retrospectively reviewed. A series of 11 patients treated for BSEA in our Service during a period of 12 years (1989-2000) have been retrospectively studied. Spinal epidural abscesses (SEA) were diagnosed by MRI, CT or at surgery. Brucellar aetiology of SEA was considered when seroagglutination tests were positive at a titre of 1/160 or higher, and/or Brucella spp. were isolated in the blood or sample cultures. Ten of the 11 cases were treated with rifampicin plus doxycycline and in the remaining patient streptomycin was added because of a poor initial response. Six patients underwent surgical decompression and debridement of the SEA. Outcome was excellent in nine cases and good in two. There was no mortality and only one patient recovered incompletely from preadmission neurological deficits. Although BSEA is considered to be an unusual complication of spondylitis, our findings show that in some cases it can follow direct haematogenous spread to the extradural space. Surgical treatment must be undertaken when major neurological deficits are present. If antibiotic treatment is chosen as the initial therapy, the possibility of sudden neurological deterioration must be taken into account. Contrary to the high morbi-mortality rates reported in pyogenic or tuberculous SEA, BSEA has a good prognosis with early diagnosis and appropriate management.

A case of acute extradural haematoma with spontaneous resolution within 6 h of the head injury is presented. The literature is reviewed.

Candida spondylodiscitis is a rare complication of a haematogenous dissemination of a candida infection, that usually affects immunocompromised patients. We present a case of a Candida albicans spondylodiscitis in a patient in whom a bacterial origin was suspected because of the antecedent of a Staphylococcus aureus bacteriaemia. After unfavourable evolution with initial antibiotic treatment, the correct diagnosis was reached after culture of the material obtained from surgical debridement. The clinical, diagnostic features, and the literature are reviewed.

Delayed pneumocephalus is a very rare complication of CSF shunt systems with only 37 cases so far reported. We report three additional cases with different mechanisms of production, clinical presentations and managements. While the first patient was treated with closure of the site of air entrance and shunt externalization, in the second case, modification of the shunt was enough to solve the pneumocephalus, even when a skull base fistula was suspected. The third one died during treatment from complications. The literature is reviewed with respect to the aetiology, clinical presentation, radiological findings and management of this problem.