Spinal epidural abscess due to Brucella

A patient with brucellar cervical spondylodiscitis complicated by epidural abscess

“…4,6 The clinical manifestations of a cervical Brucella SEA are spinal pain with palpation, local tenderness, and fever, but all of these are non-specific findings. 1,4,5,7 Our patient had a history of neck pain and fever lasting more than 20 days. Because of the subacute-chronic course of brucellar SEA in our patient, there were no systemic symptoms of brucellosis before the diagnosis of SEA, such as malaise and headache, except for his fever at the time of admission.…”

“…1,4 Human infection of workers (for example farmers, shepherds, slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians) results from contact with an infected animal or by ingestion of infected milk or dairy products, 2,4 In this report, the patient had occupational contact with animals and was a consumer of unpasteurized milk.…”

“…Brucellosis is a zoonosis, and can occur in all regions of the world. 1,2 Brucella can infect many organs and tissues, and consequently, there are a variety of clinical manifestations of brucellosis. Osteoarticular disease is the most common complication of brucellosis.…”

Lumbar epidural abscess caused by brucella species: report of two cases

“…Spondylitis due to Brucella species is more prevalent in endemic areas and neurological involvement is rare 1,5,15 . Definitive diagnosis of vertebral involvement depends on profound suspicion due to insidious onset of these infections.…”

“…Spinal epidural abscess is a rare complication in the course of spondylitis caused by Brucella species. The incidence of spondylitis in Brucellar infection is about 10%, however, development of spinal epidural abscess is rare 1,5,7,8,11,15 . Lumbar vertebrae are the most common region for epidural abscesses whereas involvement of the cervical spinal cord is uncommon.…”