Pediatr. praxi 2019; 20(6): 357-360

Meningomyelitis with multiple abscesses in the spinal cord as result of complication of dermal dorsal sinus

MUDr. Vojtěch Balatka¹, MUDr. Tomáš Radovnický, Ph.D.², MUDr. Magdalena Tykvová³

¹ Dětská klinika FZS UJEP, Masarykova nemocnice, Krajská zdravotní, a. s., Ústí nad Labem

² Neurochirurgická klinika FZS UJEP, Masarykova nemocnice, Krajská zdravotní, a. s., Ústí nad Labem

³ Radiologická klinika FZS UJEP, Krajská zdravotní, a. s., Ústí nad Labem

In the following case report we present the case of a 4-month old boy, who was transferred to our department from a smaller regional hospital and presented with a 3-day lasting fever and upper respiratory catarrh. His clinical examination was insignificant however, he was diagnosed with a dorsal dermal sinus and tethered cord syndrome at birth, making him a high-risk patient. The initial MRI showed merely a band of fibrous tissue reaching from the spinal canal to the dermal surface. However, not even an MRI scan reveals everything, as was shown later. Our patient developed multiple abscesses from cervical to sacral spine, which resulted in severe paraparesis of the lower extremities as well as urinary retention. The patient’s life was saved by chloramphenicol, an antibiotic rarely used in pediatric medicine

Keywords: dorsal dermal sinus, abscess, chloramphenicol, dermoid, dermoid cyst

Published: December 1, 2019  Show citation