[Thoracic Spinal Chordoma Need to be Differentiated from the Bacteremia-associated Paravertebral Abscess]

A 71-year-old woman presented to our hospital with fever and dyspnea. Computed tomography showed shadows of bilateral pneumonia and anterior vertebral mass. She was admitted to our hospital for respiratory failure. Despite treatment with antibiotics, she developed right thoracic empyema. A high level of inflammation and fever persisted, despite chest tube drainage and continued treatment with antibiotics. Therefore, thoracoscopic curettage was conducted. The histopathological findings of the curetted anterior vertebral body lesion revealed the diagnosis of chordoma. After confirming that all the culture results and inflammation findings had turned negative, the patient was discharged from the hospital. Thoracic vertebral chordoma is being treated at the department of orthopedics.