You are seeing this message because your Web browser does not support basic Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.


ABOUT ARCHIVES
Advanced Search

Welcome   | My Account | E-mail Alerts | Access Rights | Sign In


  Vol. 49 No. 7, July 1992 TABLE OF CONTENTS
  Archives
  •  Online Features
  ARTICLE
 This Article
 • Reply to article
 •Send to a friend
 • Save in My Folder
 •Save to citation manager
 •Permissions
 Citing Articles
 •Citing articles on HighWire
 •Contact me when this article is cited
 Related Content
 •Similar articles in this journal

Spinal epidural abscess. Early detection with gadolinium magnetic resonance imaging

A. J. Teman
Department of Neurology, North Shore University Hospital-Cornell University Medical College, Manhasset, NY.

To emphasize the importance of timely diagnosis of spinal epidural abscess, thirteen patients admitted to a single general hospital are presented. In 10 patients, diagnosis was not appreciated at the time of presentation. After treatment, four remained paraparetic and three died. Nine patients had predisposing factors, including seven with infections at sites other than the spinal canal. Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant organism. Outcome was equally devastating for the seven patients with acute and the six patients with chronic infections. Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging was the most useful diagnostic test, and we recommend that it be performed promptly in any patient with clinical features suggesting spinal epidural abscess since early surgical drainage and appropriate antibiotics may yield a favorable outcome.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Contrast enhancement of cerebrospinal fluid on delayed MRI in a patient with an epidural abscess and renal failure
Zatman and Hourihan
Br. J. Radiol. 2002;75:474-477.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  





HOME | CURRENT ISSUE | PAST ISSUES | TOPIC COLLECTIONS | CME | SUBMIT | SUBSCRIBE | HELP
CONDITIONS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US | SITE MAP
 
© 1992 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.