A Case of Epidural Cord Compression
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Transcript of A Case of Epidural Cord Compression
INTERESTING CASE OF BACK ACHE
DR.ANIRUDH J SHETTY PROF.DR.G.ELANGOVAN’S UNIT
24 year old female came with the complaints of
pain in the lower back radiating to the right lower limb -5 days
Patient was apparently normal 5 days back when she developed severe pain which radiated from the lower back uptill the right malleoli .
Pain was sharp,constant,stabbing,electric shock like pain which was distributed in the region below the right buttock .Aggravated on walking ,change in posture,sneezing
Patient specifically c/o of the pain in the lumbosacral region.
Patient also c/o not being able to appreciate hot or cold water on the lateral side of right feet or feel her clothing
h/o urge incontinence + h/o bowel incontinence +
No h/o headache ,vomiting,blurring of vision No h/o any cranial nerve involvement No h/o fever or night sweats No h/o involvement or weakness of the
upper limb No h/o seizures No h/o trauma
No h/o any involuntary movements
Past h/o – not a k/c/o DM/HTN/Tb/Seizure disorderPersonal h/o - attained menarche at 14 yrs h/o menorrhagia +
O/E – Pt conscious oriented afebrile hydration fair severe pallor(+) no icterus,clubbing,cyanosis,LAN sternal tenderness+
B.P – 110/70 mmHg
P.R – 88/min
JVP not elevated
CNS – Higher mental functions – normal UL – Tone n power (N)
LL - RT LT
BULK N N
TONE DECREASED N
RT LT POWER HIP 4- 5 KNEE 4- 5 ANKLE 4- 5 EHL WEAK N
DTR RT LT
KNEE + ++ ANKLE ABSENT + BICEPS ++ ++ TRICEPS ++ ++
SUPERFICIAL REFLEXES
CORNEAL REFLEX – (+) CONJUCTIVAL REFLEX – (+) ANAL REFLEX- ABSENT PLANTAR R L MUTE FLEXOR
CRANIAL NERVES – NORMAL
SENSORY SYSTEM LOSS OF ALL MODALITIES OF SENSATION
OVER LATERAL ASPECT OF RT FOOT LOSS OF SENSATION OVER THE PERIANAL
REGION
AUTONOMIC INVOLVEMENT
URGE INCONTINENCE +
BOWEL INCONTINENCE +
NO CEREBELLAR SIGNS
NO MENINGEAL SIGNS
CVS – S1S2 + No murmurs RS – NVBS + no added sounds P/A – Soft hepatomegaly + no spleenomegaly
IMPRESSION : COMPRESSIVE TYPE OF MYELORADICULOPATHY
MOTOR LEVEL : L1 SENSORY LEVEL:BELOW L-5 REFLEX LEVEL : L-5 AUTONOMIC INVOLVEMENT : S2,3,4
2 PACKED CELLS T.TRAMADOL INJ.RANTAC INJ CEFTRIAXONE I.V FLUIDS T.PARA
TREATMENT
INVESTIGATIONS
CBC Hb-4.2 TC-17000 DC-P22,L76,E2 PLATLET-30000
RFT RBS-96 UREA - 26 CREAT-0.6
SODIUM- 140 K+ -4.2
LFT T.B-0.8 D.B-0.2 SAP-88 SGOT- 30
SGPT-40 ALBUMIN-4gm
ECG- WNL CHEST X RAY- WNL
USG ABDOMEN LIVER SPAN-15.2 CM SPLEEN- 12.1 CM
RBC’S :severe microcytic hypochromic RBC’s
Anisopoikilocytosis seen.few target cells seen
WBC’S : Leukocytosis observed. Lymphocyte predominence more than 10% blasts seen.
PLATLETS: Severe thrombocytopenia seen.
IMPRESSION: To r/o acute leukemia
P/S STUDY
PREVERTEBRAL AND PARAVERTEBRAL SOFT TISSUE LESIONS WITH INTRASPINAL EXTENSION AT D-11,D-12,L5 TO S3
VERTEBRAL LEVEL. S/0 METASTATIC DEPOSITS
MRI REPORT
Hb-6.2 PCV- 25% TC-25,000 DC-BLAST 80%
?AML
Haematology GH
Hypercellular marrow Abnormal premyelocytes and myelocytes
seen. Myeloblast 40% Vacoulated blast (+) Erythroid progenitors reduced Occasional megakayocytes seen.
Impression – AML Type 4 with dysplasia
BONE MARROW REPORT
2 PACKED CELLS 2 PLATLETS CYTOSINE ARBINOSIDE 150 mg od 7 days ADRIAMYCIN 30 mg od 3 days ETOPOSIDE 100mg od 3 days INJ DEXA 8 mg iv bd Inj Tramadol 1gm iv hs
RADIOTHERAPY – Total dose of 180cGY in 10 fractions
TREATMENT
Compression of the spinal cord from
metastatic cancer located outside the spinal
cord,subarachnoid space and duramater.
METASTATIC EPIDURAL SPINAL CORD COMPRESSION
Metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC) is a devastating complication of cancer .
It is estimated to develop in approximately 5% to 14% of all cancer patients.
Although most patients with MESCC have limited survival, up to one third will survive beyond 1 year.
METASTATIC EPIDURAL SPINAL CORD COMPRESSION
If left untreated, virtually 100% of these patients would become paraplegic; therefore, it is considered a true medical emergency and immediate intervention is required.
Thus, it is essential to consider aggressive therapy to preserve or improve the quality of life and prevent paraplegia.
Physically, MESCC occurs in one of three ways:
(1) continued growth and expansion of vertebral bone metastasis into the epidural space. (2) destruction of vertebral cortical bone, causing vertebral body collapse with displacement of bony fragments into the epidural space.
(3) neural foramina extension into the epidural space by a paraspinal mass.
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
Although multifactorial, the most significant damage caused by MESCC appears to be vascular in nature.
The epidural tumor causes epidural venous plexus compression, which leads to
spinal cord edema. The increased vascular permeability and edema lead to increased
pressure on the small arterioles. Capillary blood flow diminishes as the disease progresses, leading to white matter ischemia. Prolonged ischemia eventually results in infarction and permanent cord damage.
Back pain is the most common presenting symptom (88% to96%)
weakness (76% to 86%),
sensory deficits (51% to 80%)
autonomic dysfunction (40% to 64%)
CLINICAL PRESENTATION
The most common level of the MESCC involvement is :
thoracic spine (59% to 78%),
lumbar (16% to 33%)
cervical spine (4% to 15%)
Breast cancer(29 %) Lung cancer (17%) Prostate cancer(14%) Sarcomas Melanomas Lymphoma and leukemia
TUMOURS CAUSING MESCC
MRI is the standard modality for imaging of the central nervous system in cancer
patients. It has a very high sensitivity (93%), specificity (97%), and accuracy
(95%) in diagnosing MESCC Since patients can have synchronous,
multifocal MESCC, an MRI of the entire spine should be performed promptly in
anyone suspected of having MESCC
DIAGNOSIS
In terms of predicting ambulatory outcome, one of the most important factors is the rapidity of symptom onset. Other important prognostic factors
include radiosensitive histology (eg, multiple myeloma, germ-cell tumors, lymphomas,
and small-cell carcinoma) and pretherapy ambulatory function.
PROGNOSIS
CORTICOSTEROIDS Corticosteroids must be started as soon as
possible in anyone suspected of having MESCC even before radiographic diagnosis,
because they can be discontinued rapidly with a negative diagnosis. They decrease cord edema, and they serve as an effective bridge to definitive
therapy
THERAPY
Based on several studies, an IV loading dose of 10 mg dexamethasone followed
by a maintenance dose of 4 to 6 mg (IV or orally) every 6 to 8 hours should be sufficient for most patients.
Furthermore, patients should be started on a proton-pump inhibitor for GI prophylaxis.
Palliative radiotherapy has long been the standard of care in the treatment of patients
with MESCC.
Although multiple fractionation schedules have been reported in the literature, a total of 30 Gy in 10 fractions is the one most
frequently employed
RADIOTHERAPY
back pain relief maintenance of ambulation bladder function improvement
Motor function improvement
Upfront chemotherapy (with a planned
consolidative radiation) may be
considered in select, newly diagnosed
patients with excellent neurological status
and very chemosensitive tumors
Radiation alone has been the standard treatment for MESCC, although results
with radiation alone are disappointing. There are several reasons for this:
SURGERY
(1) some tumors (eg, renal cell, sarcoma, and melanoma) are not radiosensitive;
(2) even in radiosensitive tumors, it may take several days to deliver a radiation dose large enough to cause a response during which time the spinal cord damage may continue
(3) the most commonly used radiation dose and schedule (30 Gy in 10 fractions) is
insufficient to provide long-term local control of gross tumor (except for
radiosensitive tumors), so tumor may regrow
to cause a recurrence of MESCC even after initial clinical response
For years laminectomy and postoperative radiotherapy were frequently combined.
Recently, many have advocated the use of direct decompressive and maximal-
debulking surgery with intraoperative stabilization of the spine (in appropriate
cases) followed by postoperative radiation therapy
Recently, many have advocated the use of direct decompressive and maximal-
debulking surgery with intraoperative stabilization of the spine (in appropriate cases) followed by postoperative radiation therapy. Since over 85% of
spinal metastases arise anterior to the spinal cord, direct attempts at anterior
spinal decompression seems logical.
The advantages of direct decompressive surgery include removal of the tumor with
a resultant decrease in tumor burden that allows for more effective postoperative
radiotherapy. immediate relief of the cord compression
and immediate stabilization of the spinal column, which can be achieved
by the same operation.
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