Paraparesia secundaria a hidatidosis paravertebral / Paraparesis secondary to paravertebral hidatidosis

La hidatidosis es una zoonosis causada por la fase larval del Echinoccocus. Afecta principalmente a la región mediterránea, Sudamérica, África, Medio-Oriente, Australia y Nueva Zelanda. Afecta principalmente al hígado y al pulmón, aunque puede comprometer cualquier parte del cuerpo ya sea, por inoculación primaria o diseminación secundaria. Se presenta el caso de paciente de 54 años, sexo masculino, con antecedentes de hidatidosis pulmonar izquierda y abdominal subdiafragmática, diagnosticada hace 33 años. Ingresa por cuadro de paraparesia progresiva de extremidades inferiores, disminución de sensibilidad a la altura de T12 y lumbalgia sin otros signos ni síntomas asociados. La Tomografía axial computada mostró lesión tumoral paravertebral izquierda con signos de infiltración y destrucción de costilla y vértebra T12 a nivel de lámina y pediculo izquierdo, junto con lesión de 12 cm paravertebral anterior, con ingreso de quiste a lúmen aórtico, entre T4 y T6. Resonancia nuclear magnética muestra invasión hacia canal medular con signos de compresión. Se realizó laminectomía descompresiva con evacuación de vesículas. La evolución posterior es satisfactoria con recuperación de su paraparesia, logrando la bipedestación a los pocos días. Si bien el compromiso vertebral es raro, este se puede manifestar con dolor y síntomas secundarios a la compresión medular como paraparesia o paraplejia, déficit sensorial, reflejos osteotendíneos alterados, disfunción esfintérica y síndrome de cauda equina. Imágenes como tomografía axial computada y resonancia nuclear magnética, son necesarias para un efectivo diagnóstico y monitorización de la hidatidosis. El tratamiento de elección es la descompresión quirúrgica asociado a antihelmínticos para evitar la recurrencia.

The hydatid disease is a zoonoses caused by Echinoccocus’s larvae stage. The most affected regions are Meditarranea, South America, Africa, Mid West, Australia and New Zealand. Mostly infects the liver and the lungs, but any part of the body can be affected, by primary inoculation or dissemination. We present a case of a 54 years old, male patient, with 33 years history of pulmonary and abdominal hydatid disease. He is hospitalized for progressive paraparesia of lower limbs, paresthesia T12 root nerve and low back pain. Without any other symptoms. The CT scan shows a left paravertebral mass with infiltration signs and destruction of T12 vertebra and rib, and a 12 cm anterior paravertebral tumor with aorta invasion. Magnetic resonance imaging shows invasion of the spinal canal. Descompressive laminectomy was made with evacuation of the vesicles. Patient shows a satisfactory evolution, with a complete recovery of paresthesia and be able to walk. The vertebral hydatid disease is rare, but can be manifested by pain and medular compression symptoms, such a paraparesia, paresthesis, altered tendon reflexes, sphincter dysfunction and cauda equina syndrome. Imaging such a CT scan and Magnetic resonance imaging, are necesary for an effective diagnosis and monitoring of the disease. The treatment of choice is the surgical descompression with the use of antihelminthics in order to prevent the recurrence.

Complete motor recovery after acute paraparesis caused by spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma: case report.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma is a relatively rare but potentially disabling disease. Prompt timely surgical management may promote recovery even in severe cases. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a 34-year-old man with a 2-hour history of sudden severe back pain, followed by weakness and numbness over the bilateral lower limbs, progressing to intense paraparesis and anesthesia. A spinal magnetic resonance imaging scan was performed and revealed an anterior epidural hematoma of the thoracic spine. He underwent an emergency decompression laminectomy of the thoracic spine and hematoma evacuation. Just after surgery, his lower extremity movements improved. After 1 week, there was no residual weakness and ambulation without assistance was resumed, with residual paresthesia on the plantar face of both feet. After 5 months, no residual symptoms persisted. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma must be kept in mind in cases of sudden back pain with symptoms of spinal cord compression. Early recognition, accurate diagnosis and prompt surgical treatment may result in significant improvement even in severe cases.

Early neurologic abnormalities associated with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 infection in a cohort of Peruvian children.

OBJECTIVE: Because human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) may occur in some children infected with HTLV-1, we sought to determine the prevalence of neurologic abnormalities and any associations of neurologic abnormalities with infective dermatitis in these children. STUDY DESIGN: We enrolled 58 children infected with HTLV-1 and 42 uninfected children (ages 3 to 17) of mothers infected with HTLV-1 in a family study in Lima, Peru. We obtained medical and developmental histories, surveyed current neurologic symptoms, and conducted a standardized neurologic examination without prior knowledge of HTLV-1 status. RESULTS: HTLV-1 infection was associated with reported symptoms of lower extremity weakness/fatigue (odds ratio [OR], 6.1; confidence interval [CI], 0.7 to 281), lumbar pain (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 0.4 to 8), and paresthesia/dysesthesia (OR, 2.6; CI, 0.6 to 15.8). HTLV-1 infection was associated with lower-extremity hyperreflexia (OR, 3.1; CI, 0.8 to 14.2), ankle clonus (OR, 5.0; CI, 1.0 to 48.3), and extensor plantar reflex (OR undefined; P = .2). Among children infected with HTLV-1, a history of infective dermatitis was associated with weakness (OR, 2.7; CI, 0.3 to 33), lumbar pain (OR, 1.3; CI, 0.2 to 8), paresthesia/dysesthesia (OR, 2.9; CI, 0.5 to 20), and urinary disturbances (OR, 5.7; CI, 0.5 to 290). CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal neurologic findings were common in Peruvian children infected with HTLV-1, and several findings were co-prevalent with infective dermatitis. Pediatricians should monitor children infected with HTLV-1 for neurologic abnormalities.

Paraparesis or incomplete paraplegia? How should we call it?

INTRODUCTION: The neurological examination terminologies and definitions of the status of spinal cord injured (SCI) patients are of great importance to establish scales and provide standard nomenclatures. There is a disagreement between the classical neurological terminology and the definitions of complete and incomplete paraplegia that have been proposed in traumatic spinal cord injured patients. OBJECTIVE: To discuss the adequacy and the impact of the terms incomplete paraplegia and paraparesis in current literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of the origin of the terms, definitions and nomenclatures applied by the most widespread assessment scales in traumatic SCI published in peer review papers was performed, searching the scales cited on the references of the latest American Spinal Injury Association classification (2002; available in http://www.asia-spinalinjury.org/ ) up to the first classification, described by Frankel et al. [14]. RESULTS: The term "incomplete paraplegia" has been used to define clinical situations classically described as "paraparesis". CONCLUSION: The terms "complete" and "incomplete" are adequately used to characterize the completeness of spinal cord lesion but inadequately used when associated to the term "plegia" as a qualifier. Therefore, patients with any preservation of motor strength below the injury level should be described as paraparetic and not as incomplete paraplegic.