Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 2021 · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2021.102728 · Published: January 1, 2021
Transverse myelitis is a rare condition involving spinal cord inflammation, leading to motor, sensory, and autonomic deficits. Diagnosis involves a thorough neurological exam, blood tests, and MRI. Management primarily includes rehabilitation. A 43-year-old male with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) presented with back pain, which led to investigations revealing a hypermetabolic lesion and subsequent treatment. Later, neurological symptoms developed. After excluding other potential causes, the patient was diagnosed with transverse myelitis likely induced by radiation therapy. Treatment involved steroids and plasmapheresis, followed by rehabilitation.
Clinicians should consider radiation-induced transverse myelitis in the differential diagnosis for CML patients presenting with neurological symptoms after radiation therapy.
Prompt diagnosis and management, including steroid therapy and plasmapheresis, can potentially mitigate severe neurological impairments.
This case supports the use of steroid therapy and plasmapheresis in the management of radiation-induced transverse myelitis, followed by comprehensive rehabilitation.