Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma in a 4-month-old infant.

Abstract

A case report and a review of literature. To present the first youngest infant of a 4-month-old boy with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma in cervicothoracic spine. National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan. A 4-month-old boy who initially presented with irritable crying, neck stiffness, and fever followed by progressive quadriparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine disclosed a space-occupying lesion on the right posterior-lateral aspect of the cervicothoracic spinal canal. Laminectomy with reconstruction in situ from C4 to T4 was performed 5 days after the onset of symptoms. The boy had gradual improvement of his neurological status. Follow-up visit 1 year later, the infant's growth and development was within normal limit without any neurological deficits; his repeat MRI showed complete fusion of each implanted lamina and well expansion of the spinal cord. Prompt surgical decompression is valuable, irrespective of the time interval between symptom onset and operation in infant.