An unusual cause of an epidural abscess

van Hal, Sebastiaan J; Post, Jeffrey J

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2004.tb05774.x

Topics

A previously well 30-year-old man presented with severe progressive back pain, joint pain and fever. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed an epidural abscess. A sexual history revealed both risk factors for and previous symptoms of a sexually acquired infection. Neisseria gonorrhoeae was isolated from a rectal swab and from a wrist aspirate, consistent with disseminated gonococcal infection. The epidural abscess resolved clinically and radiologically after treatment for N. gonorrhoeae with ceftriaxone.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, NSW.

Correspondence:

Acknowledgements:

We would like to acknowledge Associate Professor John Tapsall, Athena Limnios and the Neisseria Reference Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW.

Competing interests:

None identified

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