{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T15:00:10Z","timestamp":1790694010848,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790640000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":28,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Case Rep"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection that affects the spine, typically presenting as spondylodiscitis. Predominantly, epidural involvement without significant concurrent disc or vertebral involvement is rare and may closely mimic non-infectious pathologies. We report a man in his 50s presenting with low back pain and lower limb radiculopathy. Initial MRI demonstrated an epidural-predominant ventral epidural collection at L4\u2013L5 associated with a posterior annular fissure, without significant vertebral or disc involvement, mimicking a sequestered disc fragment. Diffusion-weighted imaging showed peripheral restriction, and post-contrast imaging demonstrated thick rim enhancement, favouring infection. Follow-up MRI at 10 days revealed new vertebral marrow oedema consistent with evolving spondylodiscitis. Blood cultures confirmed\n                    <jats:italic>Brucella<\/jats:italic>\n                    species. Despite antibiotic therapy, progressive neurological and radiological deterioration necessitated surgical decompression. Histopathology confirmed an infected epidural collection. This case illustrates a rare epidural-first presentation of spinal brucellosis and highlights MRI discriminators and the role of short-interval follow-up imaging in diagnostically challenging epidural lesions.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bcr-2026-275156","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T14:31:59Z","timestamp":1790692319000},"page":"e275156","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Lumbar spinal brucellosis presenting as an atypical epidural abscess"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Faisal","family":"Alzahrani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiology, King Saud University College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fahad","family":"Albadr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"King Saud University College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi 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