척추의 아스퍼질루스 감염에 의한 압박성 척수병증

Abstract

Asperigillous osteomyelitis of the spine has quite rarely been reported. We present a 57-year-old man with old pulmonary tuberculosis who developed cough, sputum and back pain followed by paraplegia. Magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracic spine showed the destruction of the vertebral body through the level of T4-5 and epidural abscess. Decompressive surgery was carried out under the presumptive diagnosis of tuberculous spondylitis. However, the pathologic findings were aspergillous infection showing acute angle hyphae. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of aspergillous spondylitis producing compressive myelopathy in Korea.