Background: Neurologic complications are increasingly being reported in dengue epidemics. Intraspinal hematomas are rare, and those associated with dengue fever are still rarer with only 1 being reported in the literature.
Case description: We report a case of dengue fever presenting with acute-onset quadriparesis (upper limbs Medical Research Council [MRC] 4/5 and lower limbs 0/5) and urinary incontinence. The patient was radiologically diagnosed with cervicodorsal acute to subacute anterior epidural hematoma. On the basis of clinical and radiologic evaluations, the patient underwent an anterior cervical approach via a split-manubriotomy, C6-D4 right anterolateral partial oblique corpectomies for evacuation of the hematoma. Intraoperatively, however, there was no evidence of anterior epidural collection and the dura revealed a bluish hue. A durotomy revealed a subdural hematoma. After evacuation of the hematoma, the patient remained paraplegic and her upper limb power worsened by MRC 1 grade. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging revealed good evacuation and no new bleed; however, the intramedullary T2-weighted signal hyperintensities extending up to C2 persisted. She was on ventilatory support for almost 5 months. For diaphragmatic incapacity she underwent bilateral cervical phrenic nerve stimulation (diaphragmatic pacing). Despite initial improvement, she succumbed to multiple underlying comorbidities.
Conclusions: Acute spontaneous spinal subdural hematoma (SSDH) is extremely rare but should be kept in mind in patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever. The radiologic findings could be deceptive and plain computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging should be used as complementary studies to establish the diagnosis of acute spontaneous SSDH. The outcomes of SSDH are guarded, and elaborate patient counseling should be done preoperatively, keeping these in perspective.
Keywords: Dengue; Oblique-cervical-corpectomies; Spinal-subdural-hematoma.
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