Study design: A case report showing an intramedullary thoracic spinal tuberculoma secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis in a 16-year-old patient with findings of subacute spinal cord compression.
Objectives: The significance and the use of magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of intramedullary tuberculoma, and the treatment of the patient that involves surgically the excision of intramedullary lesion followed by appropriate antituberculous therapy.
Summary of background data: Tuberculomas of spinal cord are rare entities. The possibility of intramedullary tuberculoma should be seriously considered when an intraspinal mass is found, provided that pulmonary tuberculosis is present in the history of the patient.
Method: Th4-Th5 laminectomy was performed. Intramedullary tuberculoma was excised through a myelotomy. Antituberculous treatment was applied after the surgery.
Results: Excellent clinical outcome was obtained with a combination of both medical and surgical treatments.
Conclusion: The intramedullary spinal tuberculoma, although a rare entity, must be considered in the differential diagnosis of the spinal cord compression in patients with a history of tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus, and those who have a bad socioeconomic condition and bad nutrition habit. When confronted with a progressing neurologic deficit, a combination of microsurgical resection and antituberculous chemotherapy with the avoidance of steroids should be the choice of treatment for intramedullary tuberculomas.