Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Brain Abscess”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,081 records · Page 60Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

[The brain abscess today].

In spite of refined diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities, the cerebral abscess continues to be a disease involving great risks. A comparison of surgically treated groups of patients of the periods 1954 to 1962 and 1963 to 1977 does not show any reduction in lethality. This amounted to 15 per cent for the first group and 17.6 per cent for the second group. Extirpation of cerebral abscesses shows the most favourable results of treatment as compared to other surgical procedures. In our opinion, however, it will not remain the only method of treatment in future because it can only be employed if the patient is in a condition permitting an operation. That is why the open abscess treatment will continue to be justified for all cases where cerebral abscesses occur in combination with subdural or epidural empyemas. Certainly, modern anaesthesia methods as well as intensive pre- and postoperative therapy will further reduce the number of patients who are subjected to a primary puncture treatment. Since 1972, we have treated our patients exclusively by abscess exstirpations. Until 1977, none of the total number of 12 patients treated by us has died. We consider the use of scintigraphic and EEG controls of inflammatory cerebral processes to be of decisive importance. These controls enable a differentiation between diffuse and local inflammatory processes which are accompanied by a liquefaction and in this way permit the selection of the optimum time of operation. A basic condition, however, will always be a good interdisciplinary co-operation with infection departments, paediatric and ENT hospitals where in most cases patients suffering from brain abscesses are first admitted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

[Recurrent brain abscess caused by Nocardia asteroides in a patient with primary polycythaemia].

Nocardiosis of the central nervous system (CNS) is an uncommon disease, but its frequency has increased due to the high number of immunosuppressive treatments. People become infected by inhalation, direct traumatic cutaneous inoculation and eating contaminated food after a periodontal abscess. Lung localization is the most frequent one, being the origin of haematic dissemination, with a high incidence in skin, subcutaneous tissue and the CNS. The preference of Nocardia for the CNS is well-known. These abscesses are a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, since they are associated to high mortality rates, specially in immunocompromised patients; the best therapeutic management remains unclear. In spite of the existing controversy with regard to the surgical management of these lesions, an early diagnosis through stereotactic aspiration and the beginning of an antimicrobial therapy are essential to the patients good evolution. This paper presents a patient with a primary polycythaemia and a recurrent brain abscess by Nocardia asteroides, probably of dental origin.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A case of brain abscess by Eikenella corrodens in a HIV-positive patient.

We report the case of a 61-year-old homosexual male who came to our observation because of a recent onset occipital and left frontoparietal headache, weakness, anorexia, hyperosmia and hypergeusia and psychomotor slowing, apathy and fatuous behavior. This case, besides the old problem of the differential diagnosis of intracranial mass lesions in HIV-positive patients, induces one to examine more closely the relationship between HIV, brain abscesses and Eikenella corrodens. We suspect that the primary infection was in the oral cavity, since HIV-positive patients have a higher incidence of atypical gingivitis and typical periodontitis due, among others, to Eikenella corrodens.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed2004

A case of delayed brain abscess due to a retained intracranial wooden foreign body: a case report and review of the last 20 years.

A 13-year-old female is presented. When she was six years old, she had fallen, holding wooden chopsticks and got stuck with a chopstick in the right upper eyelid. She was brought to a physician immediately, but a residual foreign body was missed and no particular symptom had developed during 7 years. She visited our department with fever and headache, and a brain abscess and an intracranial foreign body were found on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance image (MRI) 7 years after the penetrating injury. She underwent removal of the object and abscess by craniotomy and recovered without neurological abnormalities. Since intracranial retained wooden foreign bodies frequently cause delayed complications of severe central nervous system infection, surgical removal is necessary even in the absence of symptoms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

[Nocardia brain abscess and ventriculitis--resistance of Nocardia to sulfonamides and susceptibility to beta-lactams].

A 31-year-old man had been healthy until the end of August, 1984 when he developed a sore throat, rhinorrhea, and high fever (39 degrees C). He was found to have hematuria and leukocytosis, though his complaints were not severe, and was not absent from his work. From the September 30, he experienced continuous pains on both temple regions and the neck. On October 6, he visited our hospital without any inflammatory signs. A screening CT scan demonstrated a ring-like enhancing mass with remarkable perifocal edema in the right temporal lobe. On emergency admission on October 9, a low grade fever (37.4 degrees C) and slight leukocytosis were noted, but not other primary lesions were present. He had normal immunological function of both humoral and cellular types. A provisional diagnosis of malignant brain tumor was made, but a possibility of brain abscess was not completely ruled out. He was initially treated with antidiuretics and steroid with prophylactic antibiotics, and underwent follow-up CT scanning. After a 10-day period with no obvious changes in CT scan, he suddenly complained of severe headache and fever, and became stuporous. A subsequent CT scan showed signs of ventriculitis, and contrast-enhancing multiloculated capsules. A lumber puncture revealed an increased number of cells, and concentration of protein in the CSF. An emergency trephination and drainage of an abscess was performed. Gram positive, acid fast, and branching fungi were found in both the smear of pus, and the samples from surrounding brain tissues. These were later identified as Nocardia asteroides in bacteriological studies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed2000

[The clinical response to interferon-gamma in a patient with chronic granulomatous disease and brain abscesses due to Aspergillus fumigatus].

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is an heterogeneous inherited disorder where the microbicidal phagocytic properties of leukocytes are impaired. Patients with CGD are prone to severe ious with many microorganisms such as Aspergillus spp (1,2). Recently, interferon gamma (IFN-8) which significantly reduces the frequency of infections in these patients, has been proved useful (3,4). We present our experience with the clinical use of these cytoscine. A 26-year-old woman with CGD suffered recement multiple brain abscesses by Aspergillus fumigatus treated in many occasions with surgical drainage. Since treatment with IFN-8 was started, two years ago, she is well and asymptomatic until the moment.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Results of treatment of brain abscesses at a neurosurgery facility in Olomouc 1953-1988].

At the neurosurgical department in Olomouc in 1953-1988 58 patients were treated with the diagnosis of cerebral abscesses. Eight patients died. The most frequently applied surgical operation was total extirpation of the abscess which led to the lowest mortality rate. Less radical surgery (aspiration, drainage) gave much poorer results. This is however, due to the indications of these operations in patients in a poor general condition. After introduction of CT we may expect further development of these less invasive methods. The authors draw attention to differential diagnostic ensuing from the impossibility to differentiate a CT picture of a brain abscess from other pathological conditions. If also clinical signs of inflammatory disease are lacking, the diagnostic error may cause delay of the surgical operation with adverse results for the patient.

Brain Abscess↗
PubMed2006

Endoscopic treatment of brain abscesses.

BACKGROUND: Stereotactic aspiration with external drainage has become widely accepted as the standard treatment for intracerebral abscesses. Although neuroendoscopic technique has only been occasionally adopted for this pathology, it introduces some advantages because it presents visual awareness that the pus has been removed. METHODS: Four patients with cerebral abscess and one with a subdural empyema were operated using a neuroendoscopic technique in our Department between 1996 and 2003. A 4-mm flexible endoscope was introduced into the purulent collection through a burr hole, the pus was meticulously aspirated, and the cavity washed with isovolumetric antibiotic lavages using the working channel for both irrigation and suction. CONCLUSION: Neuroendoscopic treatment of brain abscesses presents some additional advantages as a possible alternative to stereotactic aspiration, which still constitutes the gold standard for this pathology. The adoption of stereotactic or frameless guidance systems can probably be recommended particularly for deep, complex lesions.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Evoked potential and electroencephalographic assessment of central blindness due to brain abscesses in a steer.

Central blindness in a 3.5-year-old crossbred steer was evaluated by electrodiagnostic techniques. When admitted the steer was depressed, head pressed, and circled to the left. Ptosis and absence of menace response were seen with the right eye, while the left eye was normal; direct and consensual pupillary light responses were normal in both eyes. Brainstem auditory evoked potentials and electroretinograms were essentially normal. The flash visual evoked potential (VEP) was greatly reduced upon stimulation of the right eye, while no VEP peaks could be recognized after flash stimuli were presented to the left eye. The amplitude of the electroencephalogram was depressed over right occipital cortex. Multiple brain abscesses were detected on postmortem examination adjacent to the left thalamus, in the left caudal cerebrum, and right frontal cerebrum. Corynebacterium pyogenes was cultured from abscess exudate; however, no origin for the infection could be determined. Both eyes were microscopically normal. The thalamic abscesses were postulated to have produced the EEG depression. Correlations between the VEP abnormalities and the abscess locations are discussed, based on proposed central nervous system generators of the VEP.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Multiple Cladosporium brain abscesses in a renal transplant patient: aggressive management improves outcome.

Infection remains one of the major complications of nonspecific immunosuppression in renal transplant patients and accounts for significant morbidity and mortality. The incidence of infectious complications has been shown to be related to the degree of immunosuppression and correlated with the total steroid dosage, use of antilymphocyte serum, and number of rejection episodes. We present the case of a patient who received a large cumulative immunosuppressive load as treatment for her original disease and for numerous rejection episodes following renal transplantation, and who later developed multiple brain abscesses. These were shown to be due to the saprophytic black fungus Cladosporium bantianum. This case emphasizes the importance of aggressively pursuing the diagnosis in immunosuppressed individuals--appropriate treatment may be instituted early and may save lives. There have been no previous cases of patients surviving this condition without neurosurgical resection of the lesions.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Fever of unknown origin, infection of subcutaneous devices, brain abscesses and endocarditis.

The term 'fever of unknown origin' includes a wide range of conditions that often remain undiagnosed. The possibility of an infection must be promptly diagnosed in order to begin appropriate therapy. Imaging with radiopharmaceuticals, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound are the most commonly applied techniques, usually performed in addition to blood tests, biopsies or tissue cultures when required. The lack of comparative studies investigating the accuracy of each radiopharmaceutical for the study of fever of unknown origin was the incentive to perform a meta-analysis of peer articles published between 1981 and 2004 (33 papers) describing the use of nuclear medicine imaging for this purpose. Furthermore, infection of subcutaneous devices, brain abscesses and endocarditis must be considered amongst the causes of fevers of unknown origin. Reviews of 23, 10 and 10 papers, respectively (from 1976 to 2005), were performed on these specific topics. The results may be a useful guide for the choice of the optimal radiopharmaceutical(s) and diagnostic strategy to be applied in each clinical condition and for different aims.

Algorithms↗