Brucellar spinal abscess. Case report

Brucellosis is a zoonosis commonly present in many areas of the world; in some Mediterranean countries it is endemic. The disease is usually transmitted to humans by ingestion of contaminated food; rarely it may be transmitted either by direct penetration through skin lesions or conjunctival mucosa or even by inhalation of aerosols. The disease may be asymptomatic, but in some occasions acute or chronic symptoms are present. Among localised forms of the disease spinal involvement is rare but it should be suspected in many Mediterranean areas where brucellosis is endemic. In particular, the extension of the brucellar abscess within the epidural space with contemporaneous muscular involvement is unusual. The authors report a case of a patient with multiple spinal brucellar abscesses of exceptional dimensions, extending in the epidural space and within paravertebral and psoas muscles and causing compression of the lumbar nerve roots. The exact localisation and extension of the abscess have been accurately defined by MRI.