Idiopathic Hypertrophic Spinal Pachymeningitis: A Case Report

Rev Bras Ortop (Sao Paulo). 2021 Aug 13;57(3):521-523. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1724087. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Idiopathic hypertrophic pachymeningitis is rare cause of neurological symptoms with myelopathy due to spinal cord compression. We report a case of pachymeningitis, which was manifested primarily by tetraparesis after low-energy trauma and recurrence the myelopathy symptoms after 5 years of surgery. The patient, a 19-year-old woman, was subjected to extensive investigation without evidence of any underlying disease. A meningeal biopsy was performed and showed an unspecific inflammatory process with extensive fibrosis of the dura mater. These findings, associated with the exclusion of other causes, suggest idiopathic hypertrophic pachymeningitis.

Keywords: hypertrophy; meningitis/ pathology; meningitis/physiopathology; spinal cord.