Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2017 Nov 8:2017:bcr2017222019.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2017-222019.

Spinal epidural empyema extending from a pleural empyema: case description and anatomical overview

Gabriel Torrealba Acosta  1 , Sylvia Josephy Hernández  2 , Gabriel Castro Ulloa  3 , Greivin Rodríguez Rojas  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Spinal epidural empyema extending from a pleural empyema: case description and anatomical overview

Gabriel Torrealba Acosta et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Infection (neurology); Neurological Injury; Neurosurgery; Pathology; Spinal Cord.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Thoracic CT scan (A) axial and (B) sagittal cuts showing pectoralis major pyomyositis (long arrows) and pleural empyema (short arrows) contacting the thoracic vertebrae.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The opening of thoracic cavity during autopsy disclosed a purulent collection in (A) the upper sternum and left upper ribs, extending into (B and C) the medullary canal.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Redden MD, Chin TY, van Driel ML. Surgical versus non-surgical management for pleural empyema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2017;3:CD010651 10.1002/14651858.CD010651.pub2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Archibald LK, Quisling RG. Central nervous system Infections Textbook of neurointensive care, 2013:p. 427–517.
    1. Gómez-Caro Andrés A, Díaz-Hellín Gude V, Moradiellos Díez FJ, et al. . Spinal cord compression and epidural abscess extension of pleural empyema. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg 2004;3:317–8. 10.1016/j.icvts.2004.01.007 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hendrix WC, Arruda LK, Platts-Mills TA, et al. . Aspergillus epidural abscess and cord compression in a patient with aspergilloma and empyema. Survival and response to high dose systemic amphotericin therapy. Am Rev Respir Dis 1992;145:1483–6. 10.1164/ajrccm/145.6.1483 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lescan M, Lepski G, Steger V, et al. . Rapidly progressive paraplegia and pleural empyema: how does that correlate? Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2013;61:640–2. 10.1007/s11748-012-0199-8 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms