Copyright © 1994, American Society for Microbiology Case Report of Spinal Epidural Abscess Caused by

Haemophilus paraphrophilus was recovered in pure culture from purulent material collected at surgery from a patient presenting with a spinal epidural abscess and a severe neurological deficit. This is the first report of such an occurrence. Human disease caused by species of the genus Haemo-philus other than Haemophilus influenzae has, with some exceptions, been considered unusual (14). More recently, the use of improved techniques for the isolation and identi-fication of these species have allowed a better definition of their role in disease. The following case report describes a patient who developed a spinal epidural abscess caused by Haemophilus paraphrophilus. This is the first time that this association has been reported. A 68-year-old male presented in March 1993 with 14 days of posterior neck pain of increasing intensity and 7 days of progressive weakness of upper and lower extremities. H