[Subdural empyema due to Mycoplasma hominis after a cesarean section under spinal anesthesia]

The isolation of Mycoplasma hominis in cultured biopsy material from a subdural empyema is a very rare finding. Likewise, subdural empyema complicating epidural anesthesia is an uncommon event after cesarean delivery. We report the case of a 32-year-old patient who presented a throbbing headache when standing 48 hours after undergoing cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia. On the fifth day after surgery, the headache worsened, fever developed, and an abscess was detected at the abdominal wall; antibiotic treatment was prescribed. When fever and headache persisted and abdominal infection had been ruled out, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of the head revealed subdural empyema. Emergency surgery to drain pus was carried out twice. Mycoplasma hominis was isolated from a blood-agar culture of the exudate. The patient recovered fully after combined surgical and antibiotic treatment.