Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2012 | Case report
Intra-medullary tuberculoma of the spinal cord presenting with typhoid and paraplegia: a case report
Published in: Journal of Medical Case Reports | Issue 1/2012
Login to get accessAbstract
Introduction
Intra-medullary spinal tuberculoma is a rare form of tuberculosis, with an incidence of only two in 100,000 patients with tuberculosis. We present a case of intra-medullary tuberculoma from Pakistan, which was diagnosed by radiological findings and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid using polymerase chain reaction testing.
Case presentation
We present the case of a 28-year-old Sindhi male with intra-medullary tuberculoma of the spinal cord at the C3 level. Our patient was treated solely with anti-tubercular drug therapy with no surgical intervention.
Conclusions
We discuss the possible clinical management of such rare cases, considering both chemotherapeutic and surgical options. Additionally, diagnostic procedures and findings are discussed; we suggest cerebrospinal fluid analysis via polymerase chain reaction and gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid magnetic resonance imaging as important chemical and radiological tests to be performed in such cases.