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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Asian J Neurosurg 2018; 13(04): 1247-1249
DOI: 10.4103/ajns.AJNS_177_17
Case Report

Spinal–epidural abscess presenting as an acute abdomen in a child: A case report and review of the literature

Fakhr Fakhouri
Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Aleppo University Hospital, University of Aleppo, Aleppo
,
Ahmad Ghazal
1   Department of Surgery, Aleppo University Hospital, University of Aleppo, Aleppo
,
Hasnaa Alnaeb
2   Faculty of Medicine, Aleppo University Hospital, University of Aleppo, Aleppo
,
Rasha Hezan
2   Faculty of Medicine, Aleppo University Hospital, University of Aleppo, Aleppo
,
Joudi Araj
2   Faculty of Medicine, Aleppo University Hospital, University of Aleppo, Aleppo
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Abdominal presentations in patients with spinal–epidural abscess (SEA) are not uncommon. However, it needs to be continually emphasized that the atypical presentations of these diseases could delay the timely diagnosis and consequently prompt management, which threatens spinal cord, leading to potential to paralysis or even death. We report a case of a young girl who presented with abdominal pain and fever. The diagnosis of SEA was unfortunately so delayed that the patient did not show any functional recovery postoperatively. This report aims to highlight the importance of high level of clinical suspicion to recognize an atypical presentation of the SEA. Moreover, the fully detailed history-taking and physical examination are of paramount importance. Spinal underlying pathologies should always be considered as a cause of abdominal pain, especially in children.

Key-words:

Abdominal pain - delayed diagnosis - epidural abscess - exploratory laparotomy - misdiagnosis


Publication History

Article published online:
14 September 2022

© 2018. Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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