ABSTRACT
A 67-year-old man presented to his general practitioner with intermittent episodes of unilateral sciatica over a 2-month period for which he was referred for an outpatient MRI of his spine. This evidenced a significant lumbar vertebral mass that showed tight canal stenosis and compression of the cauda equina. The patient was sent to the emergency department for management by orthopaedic surgeons. He was mobilising independently, pain free on arrival and without neurological deficit on assessment. Clinically, this patient presented with no red flag symptoms of cauda equina syndrome or reason to suspect malignancy. In these circumstances, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines do not support radiological investigation of the spine outside of specialist services. However, in this case, investigation helped deliver urgent care for cancer that otherwise may have been delayed. This leads to the question, do the current guidelines meet clinical requirements?
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma/diagnosis , Cauda Equina Syndrome/diagnosis , Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnosis , Spinal Neoplasms/complications , Spinal Stenosis/diagnosis , Adenocarcinoma/complications , Adenocarcinoma/secondary , Adenocarcinoma/therapy , Aged , Cauda Equina/diagnostic imaging , Cauda Equina Syndrome/blood , Cauda Equina Syndrome/etiology , Cauda Equina Syndrome/therapy , Chemoradiotherapy/methods , Humans , Image-Guided Biopsy , Kallikreins/blood , Lumbar Vertebrae/diagnostic imaging , Lumbar Vertebrae/pathology , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Palliative Care/methods , Prostate/diagnostic imaging , Prostate/pathology , Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood , Prostatic Neoplasms/blood , Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology , Prostatic Neoplasms/therapy , Spinal Neoplasms/blood , Spinal Neoplasms/diagnosis , Spinal Neoplasms/secondary , Spinal Stenosis/etiology , Spinal Stenosis/therapy , Ultrasonography, InterventionalABSTRACT
In December 2019, the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) began spreading in China. At present, there are no special protocols for treating lumbar burst fracture (LBF) patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Here, we present our lessons and experiences with a patient presenting with a severe LBF complicated by an occult SARS-CoV-2 infection. The clinical data for a 52-year-old male LBF patient were collected during the incubation period of COVID-19. The patient exhibited no obvious COVID-19-related symptoms prior to his surgery, and his vital signs were stable on the first day after the operation. By postoperative day 3, however, the patient was exhibiting chills and high fever. A chest CT showed a patchy high-density shadow surrounded by ground-glass opacity in the lower portion of his right lung. A nucleic acid test for SARS-CoV-2 was positive, and the patient was then transferred to the Department of Infectious Disease for further special treatment. This case taught that when treating patients with severe trauma within an epicenter of this pandemic, it is crucial for healthcare workers to be vigilant so as to avoid potential widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 within hospitals.