A Case of Tuberculous Meningitis Combined with Acute Cervical Epidural Abscess and Cervical Spondylitis

Lee, Dong Kuck

Ann Clin Neurophysiol > 2002 ;4(2) > Article

Ann Clin Neurophysiol. 2002; 4(2): 140-145.

Dong Kuck Lee

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ABSTRACT

Neurologic sequelac of tuberculous meningitis include hemiparesis, pararesis, quadriparesis, aphasia, developmental delay, dementia, blindness, visual field defect, deafness, cranial nerve palsies, epilepsy, and hypothalamic and pituitary dysfunction. But cervical epidural abscess and cervical spondylitis are rare. A 64-year-old woman who was diagnosed as tuberculous meningitis presented a severe nerck pain and stiffness after 3 weeks of anti-tuberculous medication. Electromyopgraphy and cervical X-ray showed a cervical spondylosis with polyradiculopathy. Bur cervical MRI showed an acute cervical epidural abscess and mild cervical improvement. But about 1month of anti-tuberculous therapy, she presented a more aggravation of neck pain, neck stiffness, radicular pain, and neck motion limitation. Follow-up cervical MRI showed an more advanced cervical sondylitis. After then she has recovered slowly by cervical laminectomy with posterior stabilization and continuous anti-tuberculous medication.

Key words: Tuberculous meningitis, Epidural abscess, Spondylitis