Acute spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma: A report of two cases

Seok, Jung Ho; Jeon, Jin Woo; Lim, Yun Hee; Woo, Seung Hoon; Lee, Woo Young

Case Report

Spinal Pain

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2012;7(3):213-216.
Published online July 31, 2012.

Acute spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma: A report of two cases

Jung Ho Seok, Jin Woo Jeon, Yun Hee Lim, Seung Hoon Woo, Woo Young Lee

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul, Korea. sunnyrhee@paik.ac.kr

Abstract

A spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (SSEH) is a rare disease that accompanies severe axial pain in the spine with various levels of paralysis depending on the location of the hematoma. A SSEH is mainly caused by a coagulating disorder or anticoagulants medication, while certain cases relate this disease with spinal inflammatory conditions. The early diagnosis of a SSEH is important for its treatment. Most cases with neurologic symptoms can be treated with an immediate laminectomy and decompression. If the neurologic symptom improves within 12 hours, a conservative treatment is effective; however few cases have been reported. We report this case with a review of the relevant literature.

Key Words: Antiplatelet agent, Spinal apoplexy, Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma