Septic arthritis in a lumbar facet joint: a rare cause of an epidural abscess.
A 10-year-old boy presented with a 7-day history of back pain and pyrexia. MRI showed an epidural abscess arising from septic arthritis in a lumbar facet joint. Whilst septic arthritis in a large joint is relatively common in children, epidural abscess is rare. This case illustrates how infection in a synovial joint may extend into the extradural space and might be the route of infection in more cases than has previously been recognised.
D000038:Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001170:Arthritis, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D015299:Discitis / Q000175:diagnosis; D013293:Enterococcus faecalis; D004824:Epidural Space / Q000473:pathology; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male