A 72-year-old man had severe and sudden onset lumbar back pain that radiated down both the legs and to the top of his feet. Subtle weakness in the L4/5 distribution was noted on examination, though muscle bulk was preserved. Before admission, the man had been treated for possible discitis at an outside hospital, with two weeks of empiric antibiotic coverage. Two days after admission, immediately after a routine preoperative chest X-ray, the man was noted to become acutely less responsive and began posturing in the right upper extremity with ipsilateral head-turning, followed by plegia of the left arm.
Initially, the man could follow simple commands, but within 30 seconds, he stopped doing so, and bilateral decerebrate posturing was noted. Image is attached here for reference. What is your most likely diagnosis for this patient? Source : Case Reports in Critical Care ##Disclaimer## The…
