Iatrogenic Intraspinal Epidermal Inclusion Cyst with Secondary Infection: A Cause for Acute Paraparesis.

Introduction: Lumbar puncture with unstyletted needle or any other spine trauma can cause implantation of skin fragments inside the dura and can cause acquired intraspinal epidermoid tumors. There is significant delay found between the episode of lumbar puncture and the presentation of the tumor. To the best of our knowledge, there is no reported case of intraspinal epidermoid tumor presenting as acute paraparesis secondary to infection of the tumor in the literature.

Case Report: A 19-month-old boy presented with acute paraparesis with acute bowel bladder involvement following an episode of fever cough and diarrhea. Investigations revealed that he had an intradural tumor with a secondary infection which caused the problem. Child was treated surgically with complete neural recovery. He has been under follow-up for possible recurrence.

Conclusion: Use of unstyletted needle for lumbar puncture is a possible cause for intraspinal epidermoid tumors. To the best of our knowledge, there is no reported case of intraspinal epidermoid tumor with secondary infection presenting as acute paraparesis, in the literature.