Isolated subarachnoid pneumorrhachis.

摘要

A 19-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department for a stab injury on his back with a knife. Physical examination revealed a 3-cm puncture wound at the level of the T9-T10 vertebrae. Neurological examination was essentially normal. Plain radiographies of the head, chest and spine were also normal. Computed tomography (CT) [Figure 1], and three-dimentional reconstruction of the thoracic spine CT [Figure 2] revealed air within the spinal canal at the T9-T11 level. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the thoracic spine revealed subarachnoid air and also an 4-5-mm epidural hematoma at the T9-T11 level [Figure 3a-c]. CT of the head, thorax and abdomen showed no pathologies.