"Brain abscess"

Brain abscess Skip to main contentSkip to searchAbout usHelpSubscribeAccess through your institutionLog inBMJ Best PracticeSearchSearchSelect languageBrain abscess MENULog in or subscribe to access all of BMJ Best PracticeLast reviewed:24 Apr 2023Last updated:23 May 2023SummaryBrain abscess is a potentially life-threatening condition, with clinical and radiological presentation similar necrosis in a post-surgical patientMore DifferentialsGuidelinesAnaerobic infections (individual fields): central nervous system infections (brain abscess, subdural abscess, epidural abscess and bacterial meningitis)More GuidelinesLog in or subscribe to access all of BMJ Best PracticeUse of this content is subject to our disclaimerLog in or subscribe to access all of BMJ Best PracticeSEE ALL OPTIONS×Log

Brain abscess Brain abscess - Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment | BMJ Best PracticeSkip to main contentSkip to search * About us * Help * Subscribe * Access through your institution * Log inBMJ Best Practice * Help * Getting started * FAQs * Contact us * Recent updates * Specialties * Calculators * Patient leaflets * Videos * Evidence * Drugs * Recent updates * Specialties * Metastatic lesion * Recurrent tumour/radiation necrosis in a post-surgical patient More Differentials * Guidelines * Anaerobic infections (individual fields): central nervous system infections (brain abscess, subdural abscess, epidural abscess and bacterial meningitis) More Guidelines * * * * * * * Log in or subscribe to access all of BMJ Best PracticeUse of this content is subject

Abiotrophia defectiva triple threat: A rare case of infective spondylodiscitis, endocarditis, and brain abscess. Abiotrophia defectiva is a pathogen of the oral, gastrointestinal, and urinary tracts that can cause significant systemic disease with uniquely negative blood cultures depending on the growth medium. Prior cases note possible seeding from relatively common procedures such as routine dental work and prostate biopsies, however case literature describes prior infectious complications to include infective endocarditis, brain abscess formation, and spondylodiscitis. While prior cases describe some aspects of these presentations, we highlight a case of a 64-year-old male who presented to the emergency department (ED) f5or acute onset of low back pain with fever symptoms four days after

PEDIATRIC COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED BRAIN ABSCESSES: A Single-center Retrospective Study. The European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases recommends 3rd generation cephalosporins and metronidazole for empirical treatment of community-acquired brain abscesses. In 53 retrospectively analyzed pediatric patients with community-acquired brain abscesses at a German University Hospital

Endoscopic diving technique for surgery of brain abscess. Recent advances in neuroendoscopic surgery have led to the minimally invasive treatment of brain abscesses using various endoscopy techniques. The endoscopic diving technique (EDT) involving the formation of fluid lenses to improve the visibility of the endoscope has been reported to be useful in the endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA ) for pituitary and midline cranial base lesions. Here, we report a case of brain abscess treated endoscopically using EDT in cylinder surgery. A 29-year-old man with 11q trisomy syndrome developed a fever and progressive right hemiparesis was observed. A diagnosis of a brain abscess was made based on neuroradiological imaging, and endoscopic irrigation and drainage with EDT via a transparent endoscopic sheath

Profiles of Primary Brain Abscesses and Their Impact on Survival: An International ID-IRI Study. This study of 331 primary brain abscess (PBA) patients aimed to understand infecting agents, predisposing factors, and outcomes, with a focus on factors affecting mortality. Data were collected from 39 centers across 16 countries between January 2010 and December 2022, and clinical, radiological

Ultrasound guided brain abscess aspiration. A brain abscess is a neurosurgical emergency and frequently requires drainage to relieve intracranial pressure and identify the offending organism. Surgical adjuncts including neuronavigation and intra-operative CT and MRI facilitate surgery, but have limitations, including cost and not offering real time intracranial views. Intra-operative ultrasound is a fast and relatively cheap tool which offers live, real time imaging and visualisation of an abscess being aspirated, but is less frequently used. We describe our technique of ultrasound guidance as an adjunct with neuronavigation for brain abscess aspiration, review the literature on surgical adjuncts and remind the neurosurgical community of its value in this and other cranial procedures. We

Molecular Identification of Fonsecaea monophora, Novel Agent of Fungal Brain Abscess. A 3-year-old patient in India experiencing headaches and seizures was diagnosed with a fungal infection, initially misidentified as Cladophialophora bantiana. Follow-up sequencing identified the isolate to be Fonsecaea monophora fungus. This case demonstrates the use of molecular methods for the correct identification of F. monophora, an agent of fungal brain abscess.

Listeria brain abscess: a therapeutically challenging rare presentation of listeriosis. We report a very rare case of Listeria multiple brain abscesses manifested as delirium, which represented diagnostic and therapeutic challenges overcome only by the close cooperation between Infectious Diseases and Neuroradiology, without which a satisfactory outcome would not be achieved.An elderly man

Brain abscesses: the first report of disseminated Nocardia beijingensis infection in an immunocompetent individual in China. Nocardia is widely distributed in the natural environment and typically cause opportunistic infections. However, it is important to note that the pathogenicity of different Nocardia species may vary significantly. Here we reported the first case of brain abscess caused by Nocardia beijingensis (N. beijingensis) infection in China. A 70-year-old male immunocompetent individual came to our hospital for treatment due to headache. After examination, it was found that he had a brain abscess caused by N. beijingensis. By utilizing a combination of surgical intervention and antibiotic therapy, the patient ultimately achieved full recovery. In addition, we isolated this strain

Changes in the epidemiology of pediatric brain abscesses pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic: a single-center study. An increased incidence of brain abscesses was observed post-COVID-19 pandemic. However, it remains unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the epidemiology of brain abscesses. This study aimed to investigate changes in the epidemiology of brain abscesses pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic. A retrospective study of demographic, clinical, radiological, and laboratory characteristics of patients with brain abscesses in Children's Hospital of Soochow University from 2015-2023 was performed. A total of 34 patients were admitted to the hospital during the study. The post-COVID-19 cohort had an average of 5.5 cases/year, which is a 129.2% increase compared to the pre-COVID-19 cohort's

Brain abscess caused by Nocardia farcinica in a person living with HIV. Nocardia farcinica is the most pathogenic Nocardia, which is easy to disseminate. It can be caused by trauma, and even lead to severe lung or central nervous system infection. This report covers a case of Nocardia brain abscess in an HIV patient, who underwent resection of the brain abscess, followed by anti-infective therapy with sulfamethoxazole and meropenem, and eventually made a good recovery. The mortality rate of Nocardia farcinica brain abscess has been attributed to the severity of the underlying disease, the difficulty in identifying the pathogen, and its inherent resistance to antibiotics, leading to inappropriate or late initiation of treatment. Medication should follow the principle of sufficient dosage and sufficient course

Brain abscess caused by Streptococcus pyogenes with atypical symptoms: a case report and literature review. Streptococcus pyogenes is a common gram-positive bacterium, belonging to group A Streptococcus (GAS), and is responsible for causing a range of clinical conditions. Brain abscess caused by GAS is uncommon in pediatric infectious diseases, and GAS brain abscess without acute infectious symptoms has been rarely reported. We present a case of one GAS brain abscess in a previously healthy child with unusual clinical manifestations of decreased muscle strength in the left limbs. The right frontal lobe mass lesion was resected using a microscope-based neuronavigation system. A sole defectively beta-hemolytic Streptococcus pyogenes was isolated from the lesion. The patient's peripheral blood

Infectious brain abscesses and granulomas: analysis of 110 episodes in adults. Infectious brain abscesses and granulomas, characterized by localized collections of pus or inflammatory tissue within the brain parenchyma, pose significant clinical challenges due to their potentially life-threatening nature and complex management requirements. This cross-sectional study investigated patients diagnosed with infectious brain abscesses and granulomas from March 1, 2012, to October 22, 2021, in Mashhad, Iran. Data were collected from adult patients admitted to the two primary referral centers for community-acquired neuroinfections and neuroinflammations. Demographic information, clinical features, laboratory and neuroimaging characteristics, and clinical outcomes were analyzed. A total of 110

Brain Abscess: A Comparison of Surgical Outcomes between Conventional Burr Hole Aspiration and Endoscope-Assisted Evacuation.  Brain abscesses are a major health problem with significant morbidity and mortality rates. The objective of this study was to compare the surgical efficacy of endoscope-assisted evacuation of a brain abscess with that of single burr hole aspiration in a tertiary health care center.  This single-center nonrandomized clinical study was conducted during the period from July 2020 to December 2021. Male and female patients younger than 30 years who presented with brain abscess were enrolled in this study. They were divided into two groups and treated with two different techniques: conventional burr hole aspiration group and endoscope-assisted evacuation group.  Thirty

Risk Factors and Prognosis of Epilepsy Following Brain Abscess: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study. Epilepsy in patients with brain abscess is frequent but risk factors and prognosis remain undetermined. This study examined risk factors for epilepsy among survivors of brain abscess and associated prognosis. Nationwide, population-based healthcare registries were used to compute cumulative incidences and cause-specific adjusted hazard rate ratios (adj. HRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for epilepsy among 30-day survivors of brain abscess from 1982 through 2016. Data was enriched with clinical details by medical record review of patients hospitalized from 2007 through 2016. Adjusted mortality rate ratios (adj. MRRs) were examined using epilepsy as a time-dependent variable

Brain Abscess and Stroke in Children and Adults With Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia: Analysis of a Large National Claims Database. Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an inherited disease associated with pathogenic variants in TGF-β signaling pathway-related genes, resulting in abnormal vascular development in various organs. Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) may lead to intracranial hemorrhage, and brain abscess or ischemic stroke may result from right to left shunting via pulmonary AVMs. We aimed to investigate the risk for these severe complications in both adult and children HHT patients. We conducted a case-control study among participants aged 1-64 years in the MarketScan® Commercial (2006-2019) and Multistate Medicaid Databases(2011-2019). We identified cases with HHT

An epidural brain abscess and thrombus in the superior sagittal sinus in a 12 year-old with sinusitis. Upper respiratory infections can be complicated by acute bacterial sinusitis in pediatric patients, and usually resolve with antibiotic therapy (DeMuri and Wald, 2011). However, intracranial complications such as: epidural abscess, meningitis and more rarely cerebral sinus venous thrombosis

Intramedullary spinal cord abscess with brain abscess due to subacute infective endocarditis. Intramedullary spinal cord abscesses (ISCA) are rare, even more so in association with brain abscesses. Infective endocarditis is an uncommon cause of ISCA. In this case study, we report a patient with intramedullary abscesses and multiple brain abscesses due to subacute infective endocarditis. A 54 -year-old man presented with a 7-day history of head and neck pain and numbness in both lower limbs. Intramedullary abscess combined with multiple brain abscesses was diagnosed based on blood culture, head and spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), contrast-enhanced MRI, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Echocardiography revealed vegetations on the mitral valve and severe mitral regurgitation

Brain abscess caused by oral cavity bacteria: a nationwide, population-based cohort study. Oral cavity bacteria are the most frequent etiology of brain abscess. Yet, data on the clinical presentation and outcome are scarce. Nationwide, population-based study comprising all adults (≥18 years) with brain abscess due to oral cavity bacteria in Denmark from 2007-2020. Prognostic factors for unfavorable outcome (Glasgow Outcome Scale of 1-4) were examined by modified Poisson regression to compute adjusted relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Among 287 identified patients, the median age was 58 years (interquartile range 47-66) and 96/287 (33%) were female. Pre-existing functional impairment was absent or mild in 253/280 (90%) and risk factors for brain abscess included immuno