Subacute posttraumatic ascending myelopathy (SPAM): A potential complication of subarachnoid shunt for syringomyelia?

Abstract

To date, no cases of SPAM secondary to the insertion of a syringosubarachnoid shunt for the treatment of syringomyelia have been reported. The potential pathogenesis related to this phenomenon is discussed.

Posttraumatic ascending myelopathy after spinal cord injury in a young man: A case report

“…It seems the mechanism of this condition have still remained under question and further investigations are needed. Maybe the condition is multifactorial and a combination of the above mentioned may cause the involvement 8,13 . The case of our study also had a fever with the culture of Alkaligenes spp from the blood sample.…”

“…Maybe the condition is multifactorial and a combination of the above mentioned may cause the involvement. 8,13 The case of our study also had a fever with the culture of Alkaligenes spp from the blood sample.…”

“…The culture is also negative in these patients. 11,13 The condition can even present itself in a subacute way, as Belanger et al presented three delayed cases that presented their self 1 to 2 weeks after spinal cord injury. 15 Kovanda et al 16 also reported another case in a 15-years-old boy.…”

Case Report: A Rare Case of Fourth Ventricle to Spinal Subarachnoid Space Shunt Migration: Surgical Pearl and Literature Review

“…When there is persistence, recurrence, or progression of the syrinx after a foramen magnum decompression (30% of the patients), syringomyelia can be treated with a syringo-subarachnoid shunt ( 14 ). However, rare neurological complications have been reported ( 15 ).…”

Subacute Posttraumatic Ascending Myelopathy

“…Hence, we reviewed the existing literature on this rare entity to elucidate and analyze SPAM. We found only 28 cases of SPAM after thoracolumbar injury that were reported in the literature 2,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] . We report a case of SPAM occurring after T11/12 fracture-dislocation with rapid ascent of neurological level with sudden worsening after surgery.…”