[Description of a series of hospital patients with a spinal fistula]
C Garcia-Cabo1, E S Morales-Deza2, L Martinez-Rodriguez2
1Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Espana.
Introduction:
Although spinal fistulas account for 70% of all spinal arteriovenous malformations, they are an underdiagnosed condition. The arteriovenous shunt produces vascular congestion that gives rise to a progressive myelopathy, sometimes irreversible if it is not treated in the early stages.
Aim:
To describe the clinicoradiological characteristics of a series of patients with spinal fistulas.
Patients And Methods:
A retrospective search was conducted for patients diagnosed with a spinal fistula who were hospitalised in the neuroscience area of a tertiary care hospital.
Results:
A total of 19 patients (7 females and 12 males) were identified, with a mean age of 56 years. The spinal fistula was type I in 79% of patients, and a dorsal location was the most frequent. Most of the cases (90%) presented a progressive course. Magnetic resonance imaging was used in the diagnosis in 74% of the patients. In four cases angiography was required to reach a diagnosis, and in one of them it was necessary to perform an intraoperative biopsy. Three lumbar punctures were performed, two of which revealed lymphocytic pleocytosis and high protein levels in cerebrospinal fluid. The average diagnostic delay was nine months. Seventy-nine per cent of the patients were treated and only 10% of them improved.
Conclusions:
When faced with a clinical picture suggestive of a spinal fistula, a diagnostic spinal angiography must be carried out, although the patient under study may present atypical cerebrospinal fluid characteristics and normal results in magnetic resonance imaging of the spinal cord.
