Spinal epidural abscess: report of five cases

Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is a rare disease, associated with high morbidity and mortality. Recently, incidence of the disease is increasing because of increased predisposing factors.Patients: Five cases with spinal epidural abscess admitted with neurologic deficits are reported here. Of these, one was an IV-drug abuser while in another case osteomyelitis resulted from tuberculosis. No source of infection was identified in other cases. All patients underwent urgent decompressive multilevel laminectomy followed by antibiotic therapy based on blood culture results. Finally, 3 patients could ambulate independently while the other two patients were left without improvement in neurologic status. SEA is a devastating condition if not diagnosed and treated promptly and effectively. Preoperative MR imaging provides a noninvasive, accurate means of diagnosis in this condition. Recent advances in the surgical treatment of SEA have resulted in the increased use of less-invasive surgical techniques, thereby decreasing the morbidity associated with surgery in both the short and long term.