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Tuberculous spondylitis treatment in developing nations remains controversial. We report our experience, working in a Center where appropriate medical and human structures are available. 22 of 78 adults treated at Jeanne-Ebori Hospital (Gabon), for tuberculous spondylitis, between August 1982 and June 1992, underwent surgery. The average age was 48 years (range, twenty-six to sixty-eight years). Eighteen patients had neurological complications: progressive spinal cord lesions: 15 cases (tetraplegia: 3, paraplegia: 11, tetraparesis: 1) and radicular syndromes (3 cases). The patients were seen in advanced stages of the disease with bone destruction, associated with collapse of vertebrae in ten cases. Indications for surgery were: neurologic in eleven cases, mechanical in one case, and mixed in ten cases (neurologic and mechanical: 5, etiologic and mechanical: 3, etiologic and neurologic: 2). Anterior approach were performed in 10 cases, posterior approach in 12 cases, generally, following an initial three weeks course of antituberculous therapy. The average length of time spent in hospital including rehabilitation had been 10.4 weeks. The average follow-up was 23.7 months (range: 8 months to 8 years). All patients obtained fusion, and stability was achieved after 3-5 months. The neurological recovery was complete in 9 cases, partial in 8 cases, unchanged in one case. All patients were considered medically cured. The analysis of material and socio economic difficulties obliges us to reduce the treatment length by favoring surgical intervention in relatively advanced lesions. Moreover, that allows to specify the diagnosis.
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PMID:[Is there a place for surgery in Pott's disease in adults? Our experience in Gabon]. 775 96

Osteoporotic vertebral crush fractures with neurologic complications are rarely reported in the literature. We report six new cases particularly severe in which death occurred in two cases. The study group included four women and two men with a mean age of 75 years (range: 72-79). Vertebral collapse causing neurological deficit was T5, T9, T11 in two cases, L1 and L3. The mean number of vertebral collapses was three per patient (range: 1-9). Back pain appeared without traumatism 6 weeks before admission (range: 1-24). Neurological complications appeared 2.5 weeks after back pain (range: 1-8). One patient suffered from a paraplegia, three from a paraparesia with bladder dysfunction (n = 1). In one case there was a severe weakness of the levator muscles of the foot and in another a L3 femoral neuralgia with severe bowel and bladder dysfunction. X-rays demonstrated backwards displacement of the posterior cortex in three cases, an intravertebral vacuum phenomenon in two cases and a heterogeneous appearance suggesting a malignancy in two cases. Computed tomography, performed in four patients and tomography in one patient, demonstrated fragmentation of the vertebral body in all the cases and vacuum phenomenon in four cases. Magnetic resonance imaging performed in four cases has confirmed the absence of epiduritis and a compression due to bony structures in two cases. A vertebral biopsy was performed in three cases. Osteoporosis was observed in all the cases and in two cases there was also an osteonecrosis. Surgical treatment was performed in three cases and conservative medical treatment in the other cases. After surgical treatment we have observed an absence of improvement of neurological complications in one case, an improvement in another and finally a full recovery in the last case. After conservative treatment we have noted in two cases an absence of improvement of neurological complications and in one case an improvement of neurological deficit. Two patients died (one after medical treatment and another after surgical treatment).
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PMID:[Osteoporotic vertebral crush fractures with severe neurologic manifestations. Apropos of 6 cases]. 857 Sep 51

Dysesthethic pain is a common complaint of patients with syringomyelia, traumatic paraplegia, and various myelopathic conditions. Because cavitary lesions of the spinal cord can be defined with good resolution by magnetic resonance imaging, syringomyelia provides a potential model for examining anatomic correlates of central pain. In this study, a syndrome of segmental dysesthesias, characterized by burning pain, hyperesthesia, and a variable incidence of trophic changes, was described by 51 of 137 patients (37%) with syringomyelia at the time of clinical presentation. Complete magnetic resonance scans, including axial images, demonstrated extension of the syrinx into the dorsolateral quadrant of the spinal cord on the same side and at the level of pain in 43 of 51 patients (84%). Surgical treatment of syringomyelia resulted in the relief or improvement of dysesthetic pain in 22 of 37 patients (59%), but 15 patients (41%) reported no improvement or an intensification of pain despite collapse of the syrinx. Postoperative dysesthetic pain was often a disabling complaint that responded poorly to medical therapy, including analgesics, sedatives, antiepileptics, antispasmodics, and anti-inflammatory agents. In most cases, there was a gradual improvement of symptoms, although six patients continued to complain of pain 24 to 74 months postoperatively. Prompt but transient relief was achieved in two of two patients with regional sympathetic blocks, and prolonged relief was achieved in one patient by stellate ganglionectomy. We conclude that painful dysesthesias can be caused by a disturbance of pain-modulating centers in the dorsolateral quadrant of the spinal cord and have certain causalgia-like features that respond in an unpredictable way to surgical collapse of the syrinx.
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PMID:Dysesthetic pain in patients with syringomyelia. 872 19

We report a case of a permanent flaccid paraplegia, with a sensory loss at T12 level, not associated with cerebral damage, subsequent to a cardiac arrest of 15 minutes duration, in a 67-year-old patient, undergoing haemorragic surgery for gangrenous purulent cholecystitis. Besides cardiovascular collapse and subsequent circulatory arrest, possible favouring factors include anatomical anomalies in the territory of anterior spinal artery, surgical posture with hyperlordosis generating venous stasis, emergency haemostatic maneuvers with compression of the arterial territory providing spinal blood supply. Spinal cord lesions are probably more frequent than expected, as the often associated cerebral anoxic encephalopathy impedes their recognition. Only a systematic anatomopathological examination of the spinal cord, in patients who died after a cardiac arrest, would provide the accurate incidence of spinal complications.
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PMID:[Paraplegia after cardiac arrest]. 873 42

Two hundred one consecutive patients with cancer pain who received intrathecal pain treatment between 1985 and 1993 were included in this retrospective study undertaken to test the hypothesis that epidural metastasis is a common cause of "refractory" cancer pain and that its presence may affect the efficacy and the complication rates of intraspinal pain treatment. Fifty-seven (approximately 28%) patients were investigated by metrizamide myelography, computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), laminectomy, or neurohistopathology. Epidural metastases were found in 40 (70%) and spinal stenosis in 33 (approximately 58%); 7 patients with total and 26 with partial occlusion of the spinal canal. Presence of epidural metastasis affected catheter insertion complications, daily dosages, and complications of the intrathecal pain treatment only when it was associated with spinal canal stenosis (partial or total). During the period of the intrathecal treatment, the patients with confirmed epidural metastasis and total spinal canal stenosis needed significantly (P < 0.05) higher daily doses of opioid (means = 77 +/- 103 versus 22 +/- 29 mg) and intrathecal bupivacaine (means = 65 +/- 44 versus 33 +/- 20 mg) and had significantly (P < 0.05) higher rates (14% versus 0%) of radicular pain at injection and poor distribution of analgesia than those without epidural metastasis and spinal canal stenosis. In contrast, the rate of occurrence of post-dural puncture headache was significantly (P < 0.05) lower in patients with partial (4%) and total (14%) spinal stenosis than in those without (29%). Unexpected paraplegia occurred in four patients and was due to accidental injury during attempted dural puncture (N = 1) and collapse (due to cerebrospinal fluid leakage leading to "medullary coning" of an unknown epidural metastasis (N = 3).
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PMID:Spinal epidural metastasis: implications for spinal analgesia to treat "refractory" cancer pain. 902 59

Tuberculosis is a deadly disease affecting many people in the world. The prevalence of spinal tuberculosis is likely to rise as the numbers of those infected with human immunodeficiency virus rises. This presentation summarizes present knowledge of spinal tuberculosis and its management. It describes and updates material the author has previously published on this subject. The scientific basis for the clinical management of spinal tuberculosis has been well established by the British Medical Research Council group and Hong Kong surgeons. It is believed, however, that well-controlled basic and clinical studies are required if the incidence of the three unwanted complications of spinal tuberculosis is to be reduced further. Antituberculosis agents are the mainstay of management, with chemotherapy for 12 months preferred to shorter courses. The standard is a combination of isoniazid, rifampin, and pyrazinamide, with or without ethambutol. Anterior surgery consisting of radical focal debridement without fusion does not prevent vertebral collapse. The major advantage of anterior arthrodesis is the decreased tendency for progression of the deformity. Patients who present late with deformity are candidates for anterior debridement and stabilization with corrective instrumentation. Posterior stabilization with instrumentation has been found to help arrest the disease and to bring about early fusion. Posterior instrumented stabilization to prevent kyphosis in early spinal tuberculosis is indicated, however, only when anterior and posterior elements of the spine are involved, particularly in children. With early detection, institution of chemotherapy, and improved surgical techniques, patients with kyphosis rarely are seen today, particularly in urban centers that have an effective medical system. For these same reasons, patients with spinal tuberculosis who present with paraplegia and no deformity usually respond well to treatment. It is concluded that spinal tuberculosis without unsightly kyphosis and neurologic symptoms is a medical, rather than a surgical, condition. Surgery should be reserved for those patients who have advanced tuberculosis with unacceptable complications such as paraplegia and/or deformity.
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PMID:Tuberculosis of the spine. Controversies and a new challenge. 925 93

A case of delayed paraplegia caused by a gradual and progressive collapse of a vertebra after healing of pyogenic spondylitis is reported. A 73-year-old man was treated for a hematogenously seeded pyogenic spondylitis of the first lumbar vertebra. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a high signal intensity of the involved vertebra and adjacent discs and a paravertebral abscess without disc space narrowing. Eight months after healing of the infection, the patient had muscle weakness and paresthesia of the lower extremities, which gradually increased. The plane radiographs revealed a kyphotic deformity of 36 degrees with a collapse of the first lumbar vertebra.
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PMID:Delayed paraplegia caused by the gradual collapse of an infected vertebra. 1081 Apr 84

Aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) of the spine can cause acute spinal cord compression in young patients. We report the CT and MRI findings in a histology-proven case of spinal ABC presenting with sudden paraplegia. Typical features of a spinal ABC at the thoracic level with considerable extension into the posterior epidural space and cord compression were demonstrated. Special note was made of the disproportionately large longitudinal extent of the epidural component of the lesion. Associated vertebral collapse was absent. A fracture of the overlying cortex had probably allowed the lesion to decompress and track along the epidural space without significantly jeopardizing integrity of the osseous structures. This case illustrates a less frequently recognised mechanism of acute spinal cord compression by ABC.
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PMID:Spinal aneurysmal bone cyst causing acute cord compression without vertebral collapse: CT and MRI findings. 1213 54

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy characterized by infiltration of bone marrow, bone destruction, infiltration of soft tissues with plasma cells, and suppression of normal hematopoiesis. The production of monoclonal immunoglobulins with or without light chains is a major feature of the disease. Full spectrum of plasma cell dyscrasias include monoclonal gammapathy of undetermined significance, smouldering myeloma, indolent multiple myeloma, and fully developed, symptomatic multiple myeloma. The usual presenting features of MM include bone pain, weakness, fatigue, fever and infection. Neurologic symptoms are less common but one must not forget that MM may present with a neurologic disease. Careful neurologic history and examination are mandatory in patients with MM. Neurologic symptoms may be a direct manifestation of MM or may be due to the immune effect of monoclonal proteins directed against different neural structures. Finally, metabolic consequences (uremia, hypercalcemia, hyperviscosity) of MM may produce a broad spectrum of different neurologic symptoms including headache, blurring of vision, drowsiness, precoma, coma, vertigo, ataxia, hemiparesis and epileptiform seizures. The most common location of bone changes in MM is the thoracic spine, where it causes osteolytic changes with consequent compressive fractures. The most disastrous sequel is paraplegia. Multiple vertebral involvement with the evidence of osteolytic changes in other bones is usual, but solitary vertebral myeloma may occur. Myeloma usually involves the bone of the vertebral body and then spreads into the extradural space. However, patients with solitary extradural myeloma have been reported. Skull myeloma is frequently asymptomatic. It may grow externally or, rarely, there is intracranial expansion. Involvement of the cranial nerves is not rare, with II, V, VI, VII and VIII cranial nerves being most often affected. Isolated intracerebral plasmacytomas are extremely rare. Diagnostic approach includes plain X-rays of the skeleton, which was found to be the method of choice for demonstration of osteolytic changes, whereas magnetic resonance with gadolinium enhancement most reliably displays the degree of vertebral involvement and demonstrates any associated soft tissue mass. Current treatment of osteolytic changes in multiple myeloma include chemotherapy, radiotherapy in combination with dexamethasone, monthly infusions of bisphosphonates, surgical decompression, and kyphoplasty. Therapeutic approach is dictated by the presenting symptoms. In case of pain as the predominant symptom, treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy may be appropriate. Compressive symptoms are relieved with dexamethasone followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Surgical decompression is used in patients with vertebral collapse and vertebral instability. Kyphoplasty is a new method used in the treatment of osteolytic changes of vertebral bodies. A viscous cement is injected into the cavity by a balloon-like inflatable bone tampon. It has been successfully employed to improve the quality of life, to reduce pain, and to increase overall functioning in patients with vertebral compression fractures by restoring most of the original height of the vertebral body. Bisphosphonates reduce pain associated with osteolytic changes in multiple myeloma, but also significantly reduce skeletal events (pathologic fracture, spinal cord compression, surgery or irradiation of bone) via unknown mechanism. It seems that bisphosphonates, by inhibiting bone resorption, alter the microenvironment in which the MM cells grow.
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PMID:[Neurologic sequelae of bone changes in multiple myeloma and its therapy]. 1263 Mar 41

Liposarcoma is a malignant tumor of soft tissue. The thoracic spine is an unusual location, even for metastasis, and to our knowledge, no case of primary pleomorphic liposarcoma of the vertebral body has been reported until now. A female patient presented with paraplegia. She had a previous medical history of mental depression, and complained of dorsal pain for three months following a road accident. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) revealed a collapse of T7-T8, and the diagnosis of plasmocytoma was made. She was treated with decompressive laminectomy and posterior instrumentation. Histological examination revealed a pleomorphic liposarcoma. She received a course of radiotherapy. At 13 months follow-up she developed pulmonary metastases and rib involvement. The spine is an unusual location for pleomorphic liposarcoma, even as metastasis. The differential diagnoses of this rare entity are discussed, as well as the criteria for diagnosing primary spinal liposarcoma. Although rare, our case demonstrates that liposarcoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of spinal tumors.
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PMID:Primary liposarcoma of the thoracic spine: case report. 1586 68


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