ABSTRACT

Spinal epidural abscesses (SEAs) were first described in the medical literature in 1761 and represent a severe, generally pyogenic infection of the epidural space requiring emergency neurosurgical intervention to avoid permanent neurological deficits. SEA is primarily a bacterial infection, and the gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus is its most common causative agent. Brucellosis spinal epidural abscesses are a rare but potentially fatal medical entity, and very few cases have been reported so far. All of the reported cases of SEA due to Brucella species have been associated with spondylodiscitis. We present a SEA case due to brucellosis without spondylodiscitis. Magnetic resonance imaging clearly showed the lesion, and the blood and purulent material cultures were positive for Brucella melitensis. This case report emphasizes that SEA is not just a complication of Brucellosis spondylodiscitis, pure spinal epidural abscess formation can also be seen.