CT diagnosis of spinal epidural hematoma.

An acute spinal epid ural hematoma is a neurosurgical emergency. If a prompt diagnosis is not made and decompression not undertaken shortly after the onset of symptoms, neurologic deficits are usually irreversible and death often ensues [1 -6]. Although early recog nition of this condition is possible with high-reso lution computed tomography (CT) because the hematoma may be directly visuali zed, the use of high-resolution CT in th is condition has not been emphasized in the literature. We report a case of spinal epidural hematoma and subarachnoid blood that developed after traumatic lumbar puncture and anticoagulation . We estab lished the diagnosis with plain and metrizamide CT scans. This diagnosis was confirmed at autopsy.