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Anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion for blastomycosis causing destruction of C6 vertebra: a case report

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posted on 2016-08-18, 00:00 authored by Kushal R. Patel, Michal Szczodry, Sergey Neckrysh, Krzysztof Siemionow
Introduction: We describe a patient who had cervical spine osteomyelitis caused by Blastomyces dermatitidis that resulted in cord compression and cervical spine instability. Case presentation: A 25-year-old Hispanic woman presented with fever, sweats, neck pain, and an enlarging neck mass with purulent discharge after sustaining a C6 vertebral body fracture. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed C6 vertebral osteomyelitis, demonstrated by vertebral body destruction, cervical spine instability, prevertebral abscess, and spinal cord compression. She underwent C6 anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion, with fungal cultures confirming Blastomyces dermatitidis. Conclusions: Anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion successful debrided, decompressed, and restored cervical spine stability in a patient with vertebral osteomyelitis caused by Blastomyces dermatitidis. The patient was subsequently treated with a 1-year course of itraconazole and had no recurrence of infection 4 years postoperatively.

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Publisher Statement

This is a copy of an article published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. © 2015 Patel et al.

Publisher

BioMed Central

Language

  • en_US

issn

1752-1947

Issue date

2015-11-25

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