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Previous Volume 355:2012-2020 November 9, 2006 Number 19 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Despite advances in medical knowledge, imaging techniques, and surgical interventions, spinal epidural abscess remains a challenging problem that often eludes diagnosis and receives suboptimal treatment. The incidence of this disease — two decades ago diagnosed in approximately 1 of 20,000 hospital admissions¹ — has doubled in the past two decades, owing to an aging population, increasing use of spinal instrumentation and vascular access, and the spread of injection-drug use.^2,3,4,5 Still, spinal epidural abscess remains rare: the medical literature contains only 24 reported series of at least 20 cases each.^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24} This review addresses the pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, common diagnostic . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Pathogenesis

Clinical Features

Diagnosis

Treatment

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Pitfalls

Outcome

Source Information

From the Infectious Disease Section, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Center for Prostheses Infection, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Darouiche at the Center for Prostheses Infection, Baylor College of Medicine, 1333 Moursund Ave., Suite A221, Houston, TX 77030, or at rdarouiche@aol.com.

Related Letters:

Spinal Epidural Abscess
de Letona J. M. L., Gerstein N., Rigamonti D., Metellus P., Darouiche R. O.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2007; 356:638-639, Feb 8, 2007. Correspondence

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