Spinal intradural abscess caused by hematogenous spread of Prevotella oralis in a 3-year-old child with an asymptomatic congenital spinal abnormality.

Abstract

Case Report. To report a case of spinal intradural abscess caused by hematogenous spread of Prevotella oralis and discuss the treatment. Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. We report a 3-year-old child with progressive paraparesis who was diagnosed with an intradural spinal abscess, epidermoid cyst and dermal sinus. The patient was treated surgically followed by antimicrobial treatment. Intraoperative abscess culture was positive for Prevotella oralis, which has not been reported before as a single isolate in literature. The patient's neurologic status was significantly improved after surgical treatment. Prophylactic antimicrobial therapies should cover the anaerobic bacteria in spinal intradural abscess. Surgical decompression with laminectomy and duraplasty may be warranted to achieve immediate neurologic improvement in such cases.