A Minimally Invasive Approach Toward Thoracic Epidural Abscess in a Young Child

Spinal epidural abscesses (SEAs) are a result of bacterial infections. They represent about 7% of vertebral infections and usually occur in subjects with predisposing co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, cancer, and immunodeficiency. Interestingly, the source of infection...

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Main Authors: Himanshu Gurunath Kulkarni, Sushil Tippanawar, Ranjeet Rajure, Gurunath S. Kulkarni
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-05-01
Series:Indian Spine Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.4103/isj.isj_5_24
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author Himanshu Gurunath Kulkarni
Sushil Tippanawar
Ranjeet Rajure
Gurunath S. Kulkarni
author_facet Himanshu Gurunath Kulkarni
Sushil Tippanawar
Ranjeet Rajure
Gurunath S. Kulkarni
author_sort Himanshu Gurunath Kulkarni
collection DOAJ
description Spinal epidural abscesses (SEAs) are a result of bacterial infections. They represent about 7% of vertebral infections and usually occur in subjects with predisposing co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, cancer, and immunodeficiency. Interestingly, the source of infection is not identifiable in 20%–40% of cases. The diagnosis of SEA is defined by the presence of a classical clinical triad of symptoms such as focal back pain, fever, and neurologic deficit. Standard laminectomies/hemi-laminectomies have been gold standard treatment approaches in decompression of the abscess, although long duration laminectomies or multilevel local laminectomies at an early age can lead to delayed instabilities and kyphotic deformities in the growing spine. We present a case of a 13-year-old girl having spontaneous thoracic epidural collection without any obvious trauma, medical co-morbidity, or preexisting infection. She was treated with a novel minimally invasive technique, being reported for the first time, through aspiration of the abscess spanning over nine vertebral levels with an epidural catheter, followed by administration of appropriate intravenous antibiotics based on the culture and sensitivity. The child recovered well neurologically.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2589-5079
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language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Indian Spine Journal
spelling doaj-art-1f3b3c2f1f9045f4bc0bd49452eecc1f2025-08-20T03:34:13ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Spine Journal2589-50792589-50872025-05-018217217610.4103/isj.isj_5_24A Minimally Invasive Approach Toward Thoracic Epidural Abscess in a Young ChildHimanshu Gurunath KulkarniSushil TippanawarRanjeet RajureGurunath S. KulkarniSpinal epidural abscesses (SEAs) are a result of bacterial infections. They represent about 7% of vertebral infections and usually occur in subjects with predisposing co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, cancer, and immunodeficiency. Interestingly, the source of infection is not identifiable in 20%–40% of cases. The diagnosis of SEA is defined by the presence of a classical clinical triad of symptoms such as focal back pain, fever, and neurologic deficit. Standard laminectomies/hemi-laminectomies have been gold standard treatment approaches in decompression of the abscess, although long duration laminectomies or multilevel local laminectomies at an early age can lead to delayed instabilities and kyphotic deformities in the growing spine. We present a case of a 13-year-old girl having spontaneous thoracic epidural collection without any obvious trauma, medical co-morbidity, or preexisting infection. She was treated with a novel minimally invasive technique, being reported for the first time, through aspiration of the abscess spanning over nine vertebral levels with an epidural catheter, followed by administration of appropriate intravenous antibiotics based on the culture and sensitivity. The child recovered well neurologically.https://doi.org/10.4103/isj.isj_5_24epidural catheterminimally invasivespinal epidural abscess
spellingShingle Himanshu Gurunath Kulkarni
Sushil Tippanawar
Ranjeet Rajure
Gurunath S. Kulkarni
A Minimally Invasive Approach Toward Thoracic Epidural Abscess in a Young Child
Indian Spine Journal
epidural catheter
minimally invasive
spinal epidural abscess
title A Minimally Invasive Approach Toward Thoracic Epidural Abscess in a Young Child
title_full A Minimally Invasive Approach Toward Thoracic Epidural Abscess in a Young Child
title_fullStr A Minimally Invasive Approach Toward Thoracic Epidural Abscess in a Young Child
title_full_unstemmed A Minimally Invasive Approach Toward Thoracic Epidural Abscess in a Young Child
title_short A Minimally Invasive Approach Toward Thoracic Epidural Abscess in a Young Child
title_sort minimally invasive approach toward thoracic epidural abscess in a young child
topic epidural catheter
minimally invasive
spinal epidural abscess
url https://doi.org/10.4103/isj.isj_5_24
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