Spontaneous spinal epidural abscess in a normoglycemic diabetic patient – Keep it as a differential

Abstract Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is a rare and serious condition which can lead to permanent neurological deficit. Spontaneous SEA is even rarer condition with an incidence of less than 1 per 10,000 person-year. Being spontaneous, it has high chances of being misdiagnosed, more so when the risk factors are not clearly explainable for the condition. This is a case report of such a case in a middle aged normoglycemic recently diagnosed diabetic man with atypical presentation. The diagnosis was made after magnetic resonance imaging and confirmed after surgical intervention in form of spinal decompression and patient recovered after appropriate antibiotics. This article also sums up the risk factors of spontaneous SEA.