Intramedullary abscess with complement deficiency: a case report and review of the literature.

The intramedullary abscess is an uncommon infection. Clinical case - We report a peculiar case with complement deficiency in a f our-year-old child affected by three weeks of quadriplegia and fever. The d iagnosis of intramedullary abscess was made peroperatively. The outcome was favorable, with absence of neurologic deficit. Two years later; the patien t developed a flaccid quadriplegia in five days, associated to meningitis. MRI disclosed an oval lesion at the junction of the cervicothoracic cord wi th low signal intensity in TI-weighted images and a high signal intensify i n T2-weighted images, without enhancement after administration of a contras t medium. A favorable outcome was obtained with antibiotic therapy alone. Comments - C4 complement deficiency may explain the unusual site and the re currence of infection. The etiopathogenic, diagnostic, therapeutic, and evo lutive aspects of this lesion are discussed with reference to the literatur e. (C) 2000 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.