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The clinical course of a patient with brain abscess due to Haemophilus paraphrophilus is described. The organism was recovered in pure culture from purulent material collected at surgery. The role of this organism as a human pathogen is reviewed.
A 12-year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia was referred to King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center. The diagnosis without central nervous system (CNS) involvement was confirmed on admission, and chemotherapy was initiated according to the Children Cancer Group (CCG) 1882 protocol for high-risk-group leukemia. During neutropenia amphotericin B (AMB) (1 mg/kg of body weight/day) was initiated for presumed fungal infection when a computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest revealed multiple nodular densities. After 3 weeks of AMB therapy, a follow-up chest CT revealed progression of the pulmonary nodules. The patient subsequently suffered a seizure, and a CT scan of the brain was consistent with infarction or hemorrhage. Because of progression of pulmonary lesions while receiving AMB, antifungal therapy was changed to liposomal AMB (LAMB) (6 mg/kg/day). Despite 26 days of LAMB, the patient continued to have intermittent fever, and CT and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain demonstrated findings consistent with a brain abscess. Aspiration of brain abscess was performed and the Gomori methenamine silver stain was positive for hyphal elements. Culture of this material grew Acrophialophora fusispora. Lung biopsy showed necrotizing fungal pneumonia with negative culture. The dosage of LAMB was increased, and itraconazole (ITRA) was added; subsequently LAMB was discontinued and therapy was continued with ITRA alone. The patient demonstrated clinical and radiological improvement. In vitro, the isolate was susceptible to low concentrations of AMB and ITRA. A. fusispora is a thermotolerant, fast-growing fungus with neurotropic potential. We report the first case of human infection involving the CNS. Acrophialophora resembles Paecilomyces but differs in having colonies that become dark and in the development of phialides along the sides or at the tips of echinulate brown conidiophores. Conidia are borne in long chains and are smooth or ornamented with fine-to-coarse echinulations, sometimes in spiral bands. The taxonomy of the genus Acrophialophora is reviewed, and Acrophialophora nainiana and Acrophialophora levis are considered as synonyms of A. fusispora.
The authors report a case and treatment of multiple brain abscesses located in the cerebrum and cerebellum combined with subdural empyema. In conjunction with the case report, the authors review the literature on the pathogenesis of brain abscesses and discuss therapeutic strategies concerning the topic. In the case presented, the primary infection persisted in the lung causing subclinical bronchitis. The hemoculture showed evidence of Streptococcus mitis infection. Although the etiological role of this bacterium in meningitis is known, it rarely causes bacterial meningitis without underlying predisposing factors. In their case, the patient was free of the most common predisposing factors such as congenital heart disease or immunodeficiency. Following the 2 month period of latency, a rapid onset of the symptoms of intracranial inflammation could be observed: fever, headache, meningeal symptoms, focal neurological symptoms and coma. They were not able to identify any bacteria in the cerebrospinal fluid; the Streptocossus mitis could be cultivated only from the haemoculture. The cytological analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid showed typical signs of bacterial infection and the cranial Computed Tomography revealed multiple cerebral abscesses. Neurosurgical intervention was not recommended because of the number, localization and size of the focal lesions. The therapy consisted of intravenous administration of 24 x 10(6) IU/die Penicillin and 4 g/die ceftriaxon. For supportive therapy, Mannitol B, 3 mg/die clonazepam and 300 mg/die phenytoin were administered. Corticosteroids were not used during the course of therapy. Two years later the 55 year old female is symptom free and doing well.
A 45-year-old man had been treated for chronic alcoholism and he had fever in September 2000. He was diagnosed as lung aspergillosis from chest X-ray findings, leukocytosis, elevated CRP, and beta-D-glucan. Administration of fluconazole was started and his lung lesion subsided. But, generalized clonic tonic convulsion developed and the brain abscess in the left parietal lobe was found by CT. Therefore we made the diagnosis of brain abscess followed by lung aspergillosis. He also showed angular gyrus syndrome. Its capsule was thick and localized in the left parietal lobe. The patient had the surgical resection in August, 2001. Aspergillus hyphae and infiltration of inflammatory cells were seen in the brain sample, therefore the diagnosis of aspergillosis brain abscess was established. Angular gyrus syndrome was ameliorated after the operation.
A 45-year-old women was admitted to the hospital with a brain abscess due to asymptomatic pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM). The brain abscess was removed by craniotomy and excision following antibiotic therapy. The stapled wedge excision of the lung with the PAVM was successful under video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.
A case of deep brain abscess by Gemella morbillorum is described. Due to high fever, lethargy, severe headache, and the risk of intraventricular rupture of the suppurative lesion, a CT-guided stereotactic aspiration of the abscess was successfully performed. The patient responded well to a 6-week course of meropenem, metronidazole, and fluconazole. Gemella spp. should not be considered as trivial commensals of the mucous membranes, but appear as emerging pathogens involved in endocarditis, septic shock, and necrotizing pneumonia, as well as in serious intracranial infections.
Propionibacterium acnes is a common skin colonizer. Its involvement in brain abscesses is generally described as a complication of neurosurgical intervention. Propionibacterium acnes is susceptible to antibiotics used as treatment of anaerobic infections, except for the 5-nitroimidazoles. Surgical excision or drainage of a simple abscess combined with a long course of antibiotics is considered the treatment of choice. A case of a patient with multiple brain abscesses located in the right temporal lobe that occurred after the manipulation of an abscess of the right upper maxillary is reported. The patient did not improve despite a prolonged course of high-dose intravenous penicillin plus thiamphenicol and cure was finally obtained after the excision of the right temporal lobe. Culture of the purulent material and the shell of the abscesses yielded P. acnes which was sensitive to all the antibiotics administered to the patient up to the intervention. The temporal lobectomy was followed by a 6-month course of ofloxacin. One year after the intervention, the patient remained apyretic without any other abscess on cranial computed tomography scan.
An unusual case of actinomycotic brain abscess with histologic documentation is reported. Commonly, a primary focus of actinomycosis in the cervicofacial, thoracic, or abdominal areas is found. In our particular case such a primary source of infection was not evident. Cranial CT showed a thick-walled ring enhancing lesion deeply located in the left parietal region. This CT finding was useful but not diagnostically pathognomonic. Correct diagnosis was made based on histologic findings. Sulfur granules and Gram-positive branching organisms were seen in the purulent material.
Since the introduction of ultrasonography and computerized tomography (CT) scanning, brain abscesses are found more frequently in cases of neonatal meningitis and septicemia, particularly when the offending pathogen is Proteus. Thirty cases of brain abscess in neonates are reported, 27 of which were caused by Proteus species infections. Twenty infants had meningitis and 13 had septicemia. Most of the abscesses were enormous, and multiple abscesses were observed in 17 cases. The frontal region was involved in 22 cases (12 unilaterally and 10 bilaterally). The ventricles were enlarged on the first CT scan in 13 cases. The abscesses were treated by aspiration and antibiotics in 25 cases, and by antibiotics alone in five. A shunt for hydrocephalus was necessary in 14 infants. Four infants died, three from the initial illness and one from a shunt complication. Sixteen children have seizures. Subsequent intelligence quotient (IQ) testing was performed in 22 children: eight (36%) have an IQ at or above 80 and eight have an IQ of less than 60. In the 17 children followed for more than 2 years, the proportion with an IQ at or above 80 fell to 24% (four cases). The absence of initial seizures, sterile cerebrospinal fluid, normal ventricles on CT scans, and early aspiration of the abscess seem to be factors portending a better prognosis in terms of epilepsy and mental sequelae.
The bacteriological and clinical findings of 18 cases of brain abscess are presented. Identification and antimicrobial susceptibility of anaerobic strains was performed both by conventional methods and the newer RapID ANA II panel and E-test methods, respectively. Characterization of the anaerobic isolates was done by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Anaerobic or aerobic organisms alone were recovered in three (16.6%), and mixed aerobic and anaerobic in another three (16.6%) patients. There were nine anaerobic isolates. The predominant anaerobes were Prevotella melaninogenicus (four isolates), Bacteroides preacutus (three isolates), Fusobacterium nucleatum and Peptostreptococcus sp. (one isolate each). A total of six aerobic isolates, all of which were Gram-positive cocci were recovered. All the anaerobic isolates were susceptible to metronidazole, but two isolates of P. melaninogenicus were resistant to penicillin. There was complete agreement between the identification based on biochemical profiles and RFLP patterns. These findings indicate the microbial complexity of brain abscess and the need to target antimicrobial therapy against both the aerobic and anaerobic components of infection.
Seven adults with multiple brain abscesses were successfully treated with antibiotic therapy alone at The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C., during 1976-1981. Fever, meningismus, and focal neurologic signs were common presenting features. No patient presented with coma or obtundation. Etiologic agents were identified in only three cases. Computerized tomographic (CT) scans were valuable in diagnosing and monitoring the response to therapy. Decrease in the size of the lesions was noted two to nine weeks after initiation of antibiotic therapy. In all patients, clinical signs of improvement preceded evidence of resolution of lesions on CT scan. These results indicate that, in carefully selected patients in whom surgical drainage is not feasible because of the anatomic location and/or multiplicity of lesions, a prolonged course of high-dose intravenous antibiotics alone can lead to a successful outcome.
This report describes a dog that developed brain abscesses following prolonged immunosuppression with cyclosporin. Bacteria within the abscess were most likely Nocardia, an organism well recognised in immunosuppressed humans, and probably reached the brain through haematogenous spread from a more long-standing abscess in the mediastinum. Bacterial brain abscesses developing in this manner are very rare in dogs and this case highlights the wider range of possible diagnoses that need to be considered in immunosuppressed patients and the care with which potent drugs such as cyclosporin should be used.
When taking the clinical and EEG findings into consideration, computer-tomographic control provides the possibility to treat localised inflammatory cerebral affections by conservative methods or to heal cerebral abscesses exclusively by systematic puncture and antibiotic treatment. Descriptions of cases including patients with seven brain abscesses treated with conservative means and two patients in each of whom a brain abscess was puncture are presented. In all cases, complete healing was achieved.
The effect of short-term corticosteroid treatment on contrast enhancement was investigated in an experimental brain abscess model. The degree of enhancement was reduced in the cerebritis stage, unaffected in the capsule stage, and intermediate in the transitional stage. The area and pattern of enhancement were also altered in the cerebritis stage. Although the magnitude of the entire cerebritis time-density curve (extended for 60 minutes) was decreased by the steroids, its configuration was unchanged. Prior to steroid administration, the 10- and 60-minute components of the curve discriminated between cerebritis and capsule stages, with the latter exhibiting a far lower 60-minute value. Implications for treatment of brain abscesses are discussed.
Toxoplasmosis is the most common opportunistic infection of the central nervous system in patients with AIDS. The standard treatment for toxoplasmic encephalitis is pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine. There have been few reports of concurrent Toxoplasma brain abscess and cavitary Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in Taiwan. We report the case of a 26-year-old homosexual man with coexisting infection with Toxoplasma gondii and P. carinii who was successfully treated for brain abscess with clindamycin and sulfadiazine. The cavitary lung lesions, initially diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis, were proved to be PCP by lung biopsy. HIV infection and syphilis had been diagnosed 1 year before admission. He presented with general weakness, ataxia, nausea, blurred vision and fever for 2 weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed multiple ring-enhanced lesions over the cerebrum and cerebellum. Chest roentgenography showed a 3-cm lesion with cavitation over the right upper lung field. Diagnostic computerized tomography-guided lung biopsy revealed P. carinii cysts. Clindamycin, sulfadiazine and trimethoprim (TMP)-sulfamethoxazole (20 mg/kg/day TMP) were given with good response. His CD4 count rose from 40 to 280/microL 4 months later. All antibiotics were discontinued after 4.5 months due to the development of a skin rash. He was well at follow-up 1 year later. This case suggests that the combination of clindamycin and sulfadiazine is an effective treatment for Toxoplasma brain abscess and highlights the importance of diagnostic lung biopsy for cavitary lung lesions, particularly in a region endemic for tuberculosis.
The purpose of this paper was to correlate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of a mature brain abscess in a horse with histopathologic alterations of brain tissue. Eight months after the onset of clinical signs, MRI of the brain of a 10-month-old filly was performed. A large space-occupying lesion in the right cerebral hemisphere was identified. This space-occupying lesion was delineated by a thick and well-defined capsule that was isointense to brain parenchyma on the T1-weighted images and with a markedly hypointense on the T2-weighted images. The identification of such a capsule is highly diagnostic of a mature brain abscess. The lesion seen on MR images was confirmed at necropsy where a large abscess of the right hemisphere was observed. Streptococcus zooepidemicus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from the abscess. Based on histopathologic examination, the signal characteristics of the capsule on T1-weighted and T2-weighted images were found to be due to the presence of numerous hemosiderin-laden macrophages. These results are in agreement with previous studies on human patients. This report confirms the value of MRI in the diagnosis of equine brain diseases.
A population of 1221 patients from the Vietnam War with penetrating craniocerebral trauma was analyzed. Thirty-seven cases of brain abscess were documented (incidence 3%). This sequela occurred more frequently in association with extensive, deep penetrating injuries; deep, prolonged coma; cerebrospinal fluid fistulas; wound infections; facio-orbital cranial/air sinus injuries; and retained bone fragments. The mortality rate was 54%, and, of the patients who survived, 82% had significant morbidity. This is the last large population study of brain abscess after penetrating craniocerebral trauma before the availability of computed tomographic scanning and more comprehensive coma care. It should serve as base line data against which we can measure improvement.
The case of a 34-year-old intravenous drug abuser who survived brain abscess due to Rhizopus arrhizus is presented. The diagnosis was made by brain biopsy. Fungal brain abscess is a rare complication of IV drug abuse. Phycomycetes cause venous thrombosis and infarction of brain tissue. Medical versus surgical options are discussed.