RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Intradural extramedullary tuberculoma of the spinal cord (IETSC) is an extremely rare form of spinal tuberculosis (TB) that is believed to be due to a host's immune reaction against the Mycobacterium protein derivatives. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 25-year-old male with human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C virus, and disseminated TB on antitubercular therapy for the past 8 months, presented with paraplegia of 2 months duration. When the MRI spine revealed multiple peripheral rim enhancing intradural extramedullary lesions from T6 to T8 and dorsally from T10 to T11, the patient was diagnosed with IETSC. At surgery, we countered cystic lesions adherent to the dura and the spinal cord, containing a whitish material. Postoperatively, the patient showed clinical improvement in motor power and sensation. CONCLUSION: Intradural extramedullary spinal tuberculomas in patients with a history of TB and spinal cord compression, although rare, should be considered among the differential diagnoses.
RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: The world is seeing a growth of the aging population and the number of surgical treatments in this age group which is also true for spinal conditions. The greatest increase in spinal fusion surgery has been observed in patients aged 65 years and above. Only a few works of literature were available on the issue, especially in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An observational study in which 70 patients aged 70 years and above who underwent spinal surgery for degenerative and traumatic spinal injury, from January 2013 to July 2017 in the neurosurgery department of a single institute, were reviewed. Around 53 patients were assessed for disability/functional outcome and their health-related quality of life (HRQOL) using the Oswestry disability index (ODI) and RAND 36-item health survey 1.0 scoring method (SF-36) comparing the preoperative and postoperative status. RESULT: The mean age was 74.19 years (range 70-91 years). Laminectomy-19 (27.14%) was the most common surgical procedure performed. Overall there were nine (12.85%) major complications with mortality of five (7.14%) patients. There was a significant reduction of crippled patients (14-9, P = 0.009) in the ODI score. SF-36: There was significant improvement in degenerative patient (P = 0.000 to P = 0.012). In traumatic patient, only pain had significant improvement (P = 0.045). CONCLUSION: This study showed that the age of the patient should not be the limiting factor for the surgical management of a patient with a degenerative or a traumatic spinal condition.
