Cervical Spinal Epidural Abscess due to Salmonella Group D

ABSTRACT

We report a case of cervical spinal epidural abcess due to Salmonella group D. A 58-year-old man complained of progressive neck pain and right arm weakness with fever. Clinical and radiographic findings including cervical magnetic resonance(MR) image showed paraspinal soft tissue inflammation of neck and abcesses in prevertebral and epidural space at C3-5 level. The patient underwent a C4 corpectomy and adjacent diskectomy and continous irrigation suction drainage. A MR image taken at second postoperative day revealed diffuse cord swelling from C2 to T1 suggesting edema and/or myelitis and then laminectomy from C3 to C6 was performed immediately to decompress the spinal cord. The patient recovered excellently and the abscess culture revealed Salmonella group D.