Spinal subdural tuberculous abscess

Objectives: Spinal subdural abscess Is rare and only 45 cases have been des cribed to date. In this report, we present an additional spinal subdural tu berculous abscess. Method: Tuberculous meningitis was diagnosed with clinical and laboratory f indings in a 45-year-old man. A spinal subdural abscess was demonstrated us ing MRI. Presence of the abscess was revealed by surgical intervention. The diagnosis was confirmed by pathological examination. Results: The patient had been treated for tuberculous meningitis 2 years pr eviously. The disease recurred when anti-tuberculous therapy was prematurel y discontinued, During the second treatment, the patient also underwent a v entriculo-peritoneal shunt operation for hydrocephalus. Dizziness and weakn ess of both legs developed after the postoperative period. Spinal MRI showe d a. spinal subdural abscess as a iso-intense mass with spinal cord in the T1 and T2 weighted images, ring like enhancement and compression on the spi nal cord at T3-T4 level. The patient underwent surgery and the abscess was drained. Conclusion: Tuberculosis may cause a spinal subdural abscess and although i t is a rare disorder, when encountered MRI is very useful in the diagnosis.