A Case Report of a 4-Year-Old Boy with Intradural Spinal Cord Abscess Successfully Treated with Adjuvant Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Özet

Intradural spinal cord abscesses are rare infections in early childhood and usually result from pre-existing congenital anomalies ofthe spinal column. The formation of abscess may be the result of hematogenous spread. It is treated by surgical and parenteralantibiotic treatment, but some special cases may require additional treatments. This article presents a 4-year-old male patient whowas previously operated on for spina bifida (meningocele and tethered cord syndrome) at another hospital. Upon complaints of notbeing able to walk after one month, he was operated on with the diagnosis of spinal intradural abscess and referred to our clinic tocontinue his treatment. The patient underwent an emergency operation when his new spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) atour hospital showed progression of intradural abscess. Due to no regression of neurological deficits in the follow-up and the riskof another operation, antimicrobial treatment as well as hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) was planned. At the end of 20 HBOTtreatment sessions, the patient started to walk with support and the antibiotic treatment was completed in six weeks. In caseswhere surgical and antimicrobial treatments have failed, HBOT should be considered as an additional treatment method in childrenwith spinal abscess.