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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of intracranial abscesses. Brain abscess, subdural empyema, and epidural empyema.

Nine cases of brain abscess, five of subdural empyema, and one of epidural empyema with associated subdural empyema were identified using computed tomography (CT). Smal and multiple abscesses as well as unilateral, bilateral, and parafalcine empyemas were detected. These lesions were demonstrated rapidly and accurately, even in areas that are demonstrated poorly by other diagnostic techniques. No false-negative studies were found in cases of brain abscess or subdural empyema. However, since the appearance of brain abscesses of CT scans is similar to that of neoplastic and vascular lesions, false-positive reports of brain abscess were encountered.

Brain Abscess↗

Tuberculous brain abscess.

Brain abscess is probably the least common manifestation of tuberculous infection of the central nervous system. Some authors have made a rigid distinction between tuberculous brain abscess and variants of cerebral tuberculoma. Such a distinction is not supported by our own case of tuberculous brain abscess, or by review of similar, recently reported cases.

Brain Abscess↗

Pseudallescheria boydii brain abscess: association with near-drowning and efficacy of high-dose, prolonged miconazole therapy in patients with multiple abscesses.

Brain abscess caused by Pseudallescheria boydii is a highly lethal infection, usually seen in immunosuppressed patients. Five patients with P. boydii brain abscesses are described. Four of these patients acquired their infection after near-drowning; 1 patient developed an abscess after penetrating head trauma. Two patients survived their infections, which included involvement of other body sites (lung, eye, bone) as well as multiple undrained brain abscesses, after prolonged courses of high-dose parenteral miconazole (80-90 mg/kg/d). Progressive increases in miconazole dosage during the treatment periods were required to produce serum levels above the minimum inhibitory concentrations of the fungal isolates.

Adult↗

Brain abscess mimicking brain tumor.

We review our experience with brain abscesses presenting as primary brain tumor over a 5-year period (1983 to 1988). Four of 66 (6%) patients admitted with the diagnosis of primary brain tumor by computed tomographic scans were found at craniotomy to have brain abscesses. Periapical abscesses found after surgery were determined to be the cause of brain abscess in two of four patients. Our experience suggests that periapical abscess may be a more frequent cause of brain abscess than previously thought, and should be considered before surgery in patients with a suspected brain tumor.

Adolescent↗

[Brain abscess (Part 5)--Brain abscess following internal carotid occlusion (author's transl)].

Three cases of brain abscess following an occlusion of the internal carotid artery were reported. Case 1: A 6-year-old girl with congenital heart disease was admitted with headache, disturbance of consciousness and left hemiparesis. Right carotid angiography revealed an occlusion of the right internal carotid artery. After 6 months, she was readmitted with high fever. CT scan revealed a low density area and a ring-like shadow at the same site of cerebral infarction. Case 2: A 69-year-old man was admitted in semicoma and with right hemiplegia. Left angiography revealed an occlusion of the left internal carotid artery. After 2 months, a brain abscess was noted in the infarcted area. Case 3: A 20-year-old man with congenital heart disease, was admitted due to headache, vomiting and high fever. CT scan revealed a brain abscess in the right frontal lobe. Carotid angiography showed bilateral internal carotid artery occlusion. We concluded that diminution of cerebral oxygen and encephalomalacia are predisposing factors to the evolution of brain abscess.

Adult↗

Experience with brain abscesses.

Brain abscesses were studied in 47 patients. Thirty-four (72%) of them were between 5-15 years and 9 were infants. Otogenic source (34%) was the commonest predisposing factor, followed by scalp and face infection (21.3%) and congenital cyanotic heart disease (12.8%). Twenty (42%) patients had multiple abscesses. Supratentorial abscesses were commonest (75.9%). Predominant clinical features were fever (87.2%), raised intracranial tension (78.7%) and altered sensorium (53.2%). A total of 38.3% presented with focal neurological deficit and 34% were admitted in Grade III or IV coma. Diagnosis of abscess and monitoring of its evolution was done principally by CT scanning. Causative organisms were isolated in 54.8% of cases and Staphylococci, Proteus and Pseudomonas were the common pathogens. Therapy was most often a combination of surgical aspiration with or without excision in addition to antimicrobial therapy. The overall mortality in our series was 44.7%. Bad prognostic factors were Grade III/IV of coma at admission, age below 2 years and multiple abscesses.

Adolescent↗

Brain abscess and brain tumor: discrimination with in vivo H-1 MR spectroscopy.

PURPOSE: To determine the ability to differentiate brain abscess from cystic or necrotic brain tumor with hydrogen-1 magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: H-1 MR spectroscopy was prospectively performed in seven consecutive patients with pyogenic brain abscess and in seven consecutive patients with necrotic or cystic brain tumor (five patients with glioblastoma and one each with pilocytic astrocytoma and metastasis from lung cancer) in whom radiologic images depicted ring-shaped areas of contrast material enhancement (indicative of a cystic or necrotic mass). Assignment of resonance peaks to metabolites was based on reports in the literature. RESULTS: In six of seven patients with abscess, there were various resonances attributed to lactate, valine, alanine, leucine, acetate, succinate, and unidentified metabolites (2.2, 2.9, 3.2, 3.4, and 3.8 ppm). In six of seven patients with tumor, there was only a resonance attributed to lactate. One patient with a tumor had an unidentified peak at 0.9 ppm (presumably attributed to lipid) in addition to the peak attributed to lactate. CONCLUSION: Spectral patterns from in vivo H-1 MR spectroscopy may permit differentiation of brain abscess from necrotic or cystic tumor.

Adult↗

[Fatal course of basalioma terebrans caused by brain abscess with brain compression and hemorrhagic anemia].

Report on a 79 years old female patient with a giant basalioma terebrans which has been growing for 15 years at the forehead. Its rapid exophytic and invasive growth at the final stage resulted in an extend destruction of the squamofrontal bone with infiltration into the dura mater. In consequence of this brain abscess with brain compression and a high grade hemorrhagic anemia inducing at last the fatal outcome were developed.

Aged↗

Regional morphology and biochemistry in experimental brain abscesses.

Brain abscesses were induced experimentally in six cats by stereotactic inoculation of Staphylococcus aureus A8 into the white matter of the left cerebral hemisphere. Seven days later, the brains were frozen in situ with liquid nitrogen and subsequently sawn into coronal sections of 5 mm thickness, while being cooled with liquid nitrogen. Thin slices were taken from those sections containing the largest expanse of abscess: slices of 5 micron thickness were stained histologically, and in adjacent 20 micron slices the regional distribution of ATP and glucose was mapped using substrate-specific bioluminescence methods. Furthermore, the NADH fluorescence from the surface of the tissue section was recorded. Six layers could be distinguished histologically in the abscess capsule, five of which showed different substrate patterns. Only in two layers a low metabolic activity could be observed, as shown by slight ATP bioluminescence. The pattern of the biochemical substrates in the white matter surrounding the abscess indicated a reduction in the cellular oxygen availability.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Brain Abscess, Subdural Empyema, and Intracranial Epidural Abscess.

Brain abscess, subdural empyema, and intracranial epidural abscess are three of the most commonly encountered focal suppurative processes of the central nervous system. A great deal has been known about the epidemiology and pathogenesis of these entities for quite some time, but until recent years the associated morbidity and mortality remained very high. New imaging techniques have allowed for more rapid detection and more precise localization of these lesions for surgical drainage. Empiric antimicrobial regimens that are effective within the abscess environment and that are directed against the most likely pathogens have also contributed to the improved outcomes seen in the current literature. This article will discuss some of the more recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of these suppurative lesions within the central nervous system.

Journal Article↗

[Experimental brain abscess evolution : brain edema and neuropathologic correlation (author's transl)].

In the right hemisphere of rabbits an inoculation of a mixture of agar and bouillon with Staphylococcus aureus was performed to examine brain inflammation, which always led to brain abscess with a spreading inflammatory edema. The size of the acute abcess and the concomitant edema are dependant from the degree of pathogenecity, less from the inoculated quantity of bacteria. In the acute phase, the edema had the tendency to spread towards the ventricular system. When the intracranial pressure exceeds a certain limit by the spreading edema, the mortality increased significantly. With the incipient encapsulation from the 5th day on the accumulation of extracellular fluid decreased but remained recognisable around the encapsulated abscess as long as bacteria maintain a chronic inflammation.

Acute Disease↗

[Abscess of the brain (2nd report)--special reference to surgical indication of extracapsular excision of brain abscess (author's transl)].

Brain abscess persists as a serious diagnostic problem and critical therapeutic challenge since pre-antibiotic era. After antibiotic agents has been introduced, abscess of the brain seems to be a surgical curable intracranial suppurative disease, although surgical mortality and morbidity due to brain abscess are still distressingly high. Recently, the incidence of brain abscess are gradually increasing. In this present situation, it is necessary to reevaluate the previous method and surgical results of brain abscess. Even with new surgical techniques and antibiotics, the mortality rate and number of neurological deficits remain high, as previously methods, it is most important how to eliminate these problems. It was undertaken to determine the significant factors affecting the clinical management of patients with this serious problem. The general outlines of our neurosurgical treatment are given, with emphasis on our surgical schedule of brain abscess, especially brain abscess in congenital heart disease. In this paper, a review of the current status of the surgical methods, operative mortality and morbidity, diagnostic methods and the therapy of brain abscess has been discussed.

Adolescent↗

Brain abscess and necrotic brain tumor: discrimination with proton MR spectroscopy and diffusion-weighted imaging.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Discriminating pyogenic brain abscesses from cystic or necrotic tumors is sometimes difficult with CT or MR imaging. We compared findings of proton MR spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) with those of diffusion-weighted imaging to determine which technique was more effective for this differential diagnosis. METHODS: Fourteen patients (necrotic or cystic tumor [n = 7]; pyogenic abscess [n = 7]) who underwent 1.5-T (1)H-MRS and diffusion-weighted imaging and had findings of ring-shaped enhancement after contrast agent administration were enrolled in this study. Diffusion-weighted imaging was performed with a single-shot spin-echo echo-planar pulse sequence (b = 1000 s/mm(2)). The apparent diffusion coefficient and ratio were also measured. RESULTS: Spectra for two patients were unacceptable because of either poor shimming conditions or contamination from neighboring fat. Spectra in three of five patients with abscess had lactate, amino acids (including valine, alanine, and leucine), and acetate peaks; one of the three spectra had an additional peak of succinate. In one patient with abscess treated by antibiotics, only lactate and lipid peaks were detected. Spectra for four of seven patients with cystic or necrotic tumors showed only lactate peaks. Lactate and lipids were found in three patients with tumors. Hyperintensity was seen in all the pyogenic abscess cavities and hypointensity in all the cystic and necrotic tumors on diffusion-weighted images. CONCLUSION: (1)H-MRS and diffusion-weighted imaging are useful for differentiating brain abscess from brain tumor, but the latter requires less time and is more accurate than is (1)H-MRS. (1)H-MRS is probably more limited in cases of smaller peripheral lesions, skull base lesions, and treated abscesses.

Adult↗

Multiple brain abscesses secondary to bronchiectasis. A case of 34 discrete abscesses in one brain.

Multiple brain abscesses are a rare complication which may occur in a number of conditions including intra-thoracic sepsis. Computerized tomography has had an advantageous impact on the management of this condition by facilitating earlier diagnosis. However, the treatment modalities are inadequate and mortality remains high. A case of multiple brain abscesses in a patient with bronchiectasis is reported which exemplifies this often fatal condition. The management of multiple brain abscesses is discussed.

Adult↗

Proinflammatory cytokine, chemokine, and cellular adhesion molecule expression during the acute phase of experimental brain abscess development.

Brain abscess represents the infectious disease sequelae associated with the influx of inflammatory cells and activation of resident parenchymal cells in the central nervous system. However, the immune response leading to the establishment of a brain abscess remains poorly defined. In this study, we have characterized cytokine and chemokine expression in an experimental brain abscess model in the rat during the acute stage of abscess development. RNase protection assay revealed the induction of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha as early as 1 to 6 hours after Staphylococcus aureus exposure. Evaluation of chemokine expression by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction demonstrated enhanced levels of the CXC chemokine KC 24 hours after bacterial exposure, which correlated with the appearance of neutrophils in the abscess. In addition, two CC chemokines, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha were induced within 24 hours after S. aureus exposure and preceded the influx of macrophages and lymphocytes into the brain. Analysis of abscess lesions by in situ hybridization identified CD11b+ cells as the source of IL-1beta in response to S. aureus. Both intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule expression were enhanced on microvessels in S. aureus but not sterile bead-implanted tissues at 24 and 48 hours after treatment. These results characterize proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine expression during the early response to S. aureus in the brain and provide the foundation to assess the functional significance of these mediators in brain abscess pathogenesis.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗

[A case of gas-producing brain abscess with subdural empyema: timing of the operation for brain abscess].

A case of gas-producing brain abscess with subdural abscess was reported. An 18-year-old boy was admitted with a five-day history of vomiting and high grade pyrexia. Plain skull roentgenograms demonstrated left frontal multiple gas bubbles. CT scan and MRI showed that both brain and subdural abscesses contained gas in the left frontal area. Antibiotics and glyceol were intravenously administrated. In serial CT scans, subdural abscess was not recognized, while brain abscess was enhanced in a ring. Seven days after admission, milky white pus with a fecal odor was aspirated using CT guided stereotactic apparatus, and the catheter was left in the abscess cavity. Culture of the pus grew peptostreptococcus. On the 22nd hospital day, repeated aspiration and drainage were performed for the residual brain abscess. The patient gradually improved after the aspiration with continuous administration of antibiotics, and he was discharged on the 59th hospital day with no neurological deficits. Based on our experience and a review of the literature, the treatment of choice is aspiration in the late cerebritis stage of brain abscess.

Adolescent↗