A brain abscess is usually caused by infection with either bacteria or fungi. If the immune system is unable to kill an infection, it will try to limit its spread by using healthy tissue to form an abscess, to stop the pus infecting other tissue.
What Are the Symptoms of a Brain Abscess? The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and nervous system problems. Such problems may be confusion, disorientation, speech or walking difficulties, change in mental status, or arm and leg weakness on one side.
The most frequent microbial pathogens isolated from brain abscesses are Staphylococcus and Streptococcus. Among this class of bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Viridian streptococci are the commonest.
Outlook (Prognosis)
If untreated, a brain abscess is almost always deadly. With treatment, the death rate is about 10% to 30%. The earlier treatment is received, the better. Some people may have long-term nervous system problems after a brain abscess or surgery.
Most common symptoms
Because these can be symptoms of many illnesses, a brain abscess can be hard to detect at first. In two-thirds of cases, people have symptoms for as long as two weeks before they are diagnosed.
Antimicrobial treatment for a brain abscess is generally long (6-8 wk) because of the prolonged time needed for brain tissue to repair and close abscess space. The United Kingdom treatment guidelines advocate 4-6 weeks if the abscess has been drained or removed and 6-8 weeks if drainage occurred.
The risk of a brain abscess is a complication of odontogenic infection that is rarely considered by physicians and little spoken of, yet treating dental infections may avoid a potentially life-threatening condition. We report a case of 7-year-old boy with a brain abscess secondary to a dental infection.
If you have a tooth abscess, you could develop meningitis. This life-threatening condition occurs when the membranes near the spinal cord and the brain become inflamed. This bacterial infection could spread to the bloodstream and surround your brain and spinal cord. Meningitis could require extensive hospitalization.
Left untreated, a brain abscess may lead to neurological damage, and ultimately death. The overall mortality rate from a brain abscess is 10 percent, but if the abscess ruptures into the ventricle (the fluid chambers in the brain), the mortality rate goes up to as much as 25 to 40 percent.
Brain abscess passes through 4 stages: early cerebritis, late cerebritis, early capsule, and late capsule. During early cerebritis, nonenhanced CT scans may demonstrate normal findings or may show only poorly marginated subcortical hypodense areas.
Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis (CP) is a very rare but serious form of central nervous system fungal infection that is caused by dematiaceous fungi. It is commonly associated with poor prognosis irrespective of the immune status of the patient.
Brain abscess is caused by intracranial inflammation with subsequent abscess formation. The most frequent intracranial locations (in descending order of frequency) are frontal-temporal, frontal-parietal, parietal, cerebellar, and occipital lobes.
Overall, about 25% of cases of brain abscesses still occur in children, typically among those aged 4-7 years. In pediatric series, congenital heart disease remains the most common predisposing factor.
Prevention. You can reduce the risk of developing a brain abscess by getting treated for infections or health problems that can cause them. Some people, including those with certain heart disorders, may receive antibiotics before dental or other procedures to help reduce the risk of infection.
For example, in the late stage of bacterial infection, the formation of brain abscess shows MRI manifestation as a typical rim-like enhancement, which is often similar to necrotic malignant tumors, especially glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) (8).
A persistently high fever, dizziness, lightheadedness, a rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, confusion, and digestive problems are potential signs of sepsis and should be treated as a medical emergency.
If you have a fever and swelling in your face and you can't reach your dentist, go to an emergency room. Also go to the emergency room if you have trouble breathing or swallowing. These symptoms may indicate that the infection has spread deeper into your jaw, throat or neck or even to other areas of your body.
The Danger of Untreated Infected Teeth and Gums
If they are not treated, they can last for several months or years. There are two types of dental abscess – one can form under the tooth (periapical) and the other in the supporting gum and bone (periodontal).
Signs of bacteremia could be slight fever, nausea and distal infection. Rarely, bacteremia may resolve on its own. It also may progress into septicemia, a more serious blood infection that is always accompanied by symptoms such as chills, high fever, rapid heartbeat, severe nausea, vomiting and confusion.
Complete resolution of abscess with complete recovery of preoperative neuro-deficit was seen in 80.86% cases and recovery with major neuro-deficit was observed in 5.55% cases.
Unfortunately, long-term neurological problems are common even after the abscess is removed and the infection is treated. For example, there may be lingering problems with body function, personality changes or seizures due to scarring or other damage to the brain.
CT scan has formed the mainstay in the diagnosis of patients of brain abscess in recent years. It offers a highly accurate, relatively noninvasive and rapid means of establishing the diagnosis and following the course of disease.