Cerebral abscess in children
E. G. Fischer, J. E. McLennan and Y. Suzuki
We reviewed 94 consecutive episodes of pyogenic brain abscess seen at
Children's Hospital Medical Center, Boston, between 1945 and 1980. After
1970, the mortality as reduced from 36% to 14%. Predisposing factors
included congenital heart disease, otitic and sinus infections, closed head
injuries, and cystic fibrosis. There were seven patients younger than 5
months of age. In one patient with Fallot's tetralogy, an abscess recurred
at the site of retained thorium dioxide (Thorotrast) after an 11-year
interval. The continuing substantial mortality is attributed to the
presence of coma at the time of treatment, hemorrhagic complications of
tapping abscesses, and the location of abscesses in deep brain structures.
The early detection and successful treatment of brain abscesses in children
remains a clinical challenge.
