The bone infection may cause an epidural abscess to form.

A spinal epidural abscess may be seen in patients with:

An epidural abscess is a medical emergency.

In the case of an intracranial epidural abscess (within the skull), risk factors include:

Untreated, an epidural abscess can progress rapidly, causing paralysis and, rarely, death.

A spinal abscess usually occurs as an epidural abscess.

An epidural abscess is very serious.

Severe picking can cause epidural abscesses.

Underlying pathology in these cases may include metastatic cancer, spinal osteomyelitis and epidural abscess which account for 1% of the patients.

Local sources may include infections of the ear, the oral cavity and teeth, the paranasal sinuses, or epidural abscess.

Spinal epidural abscess:

The spinal cord (usually an infection of the tissue covering the spinal cord, called an epidural abscess).

If untreated, the discitis may resolve on its own, cause a chronic low grade infection, or progress to osteomyelitis and possibly even an epidural abscess.

Treatment of certain infections, such as ear infections, sinusitis, and bloodstream infections, may decrease the risk of an epidural abscess.

An epidural abscess usually occurs when an infection somewhere else in the body - in this case the joints - spreads to the spine through the bloodstream.

These often cause subdural empyema, and brain abscess, and rarely cause epidural abscess and meningitis.

Treatment of the underlying cause of the compression is needed in cases of epidural abscess, epidural tumors, and cauda equina syndrome.

Pott's Puffy tumor can be associated with cortical vein thrombosis, epidural abscess, subdural empyema, and brain abscess.

Aspergillus infections of the CNS manifest as single or multiple cerebral abscesses, meningitis, epidural abscess, or subarachnoid hemorrhage (214).

An epidural abscess is a collection of pus (infected material) between the outer covering of the brain and spinal cord and the bones of the skull or spine.

Epidural abscess is a rare disorder caused by infection in the area between the bones of the skull or spine, and the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges).

The bone infection may trigger formation of an epidural abscess which enlarges and rapidly compresses the spinal cord, causing symptoms similar to those caused by exterior sources of spinal cord trauma.

This infection is called an intracranial epidural abscess if it is inside the skull area, or a spinal epidural abscess if it is found in the spine area.

Surgical decompression by fish tail means of laminectomy or other approaches may be undertaken within 48 hours of symptoms developing if a compressive lesion, e.g. ruptured disc, epidural abscess, tumour or haematoma is demonstrated.