The Contribution of MRI in the Management of Paraplegia, the Experience of the “Marie Curie” Medical Clinic: About A Case

Abstract

Epiduritis is an inflammation of the epidural tissue, located around the spinal cord, between the dura mater and the spinal canal. Spinal epidural abscess is the complication of epidural inflammation and a potentially devastating entity responsible for paraplegia whose incidence is increasing with about 10% mortality. We report a case of epidural abscess diagnosed in the radiology department of the ‘Marie Curie’ medical clinic in Bamako-Mali with the aim of describing the contribution of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This was a 44-year-old female subject referred for back pain and sudden onset paraplegia. An MRI exploration made it possible to diagnose epiduritis complicated by epidural abscess. A medullary decompression was made with the anatomopathological study which confirmed the diagnosis by finding a pyogenic germ. MRI is the state-of-the-art imaging in the management of spinal canal infection and its contents.