Turkish Neurosurgery
Common spinal parasites
Xia Yong1, Ju Yan2, Liu Jing Ping1, Chen Long Yi1
1Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Chengdu,
2West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Department of Neurosurgery, Chengdu,
DOI: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.24369-18.2
Aim:We report the four most common spinal parasites to provide insight into definitive therapy.Material and Methods:Twelve patients with spinal parasites were diagnosed between 2009 and 2016. A definite diagnosis was established in the form of histopathology (n=9) and response to drug therapy (n=3). The minimum follow-up was 1.0 years and ranged to a maximum of 7 years, with a median of 3.4 years.Results:Twelve patients aged between 8 and 69 years were reviewed, including nine hydatidosis and three non-hydatid cases. Occupational exposure to the endemic area and unclean food were the main routes of infestation. Spinal parasites can present symptoms that correlated with the level of the lesion. There was complete paraplegia in four patients and paraparesis in six patients before surgery. Seven hydatid patients underwent posterior decompression and pedicle screw fixation with posterolateral fusion. Two non-hydatid patients experienced laminoplasty after posterior decompression. Six hydatid patients had reoccurrences and two patients with intramedullary hydatidosis died of severe complications one year after surgery.Conclusion:Spinal hydatidosis significantly differs from the three other non-hydatid parasites in diagnosis and treatment. The final prognosis of spinal hydatidosis remains poor, especially for intramedullary hydatidosis.
Corresponding author : Xia Yong