Treating a brain abscess, brain abscess management

Condition analysis:
A brain abscess is regarded as a medical emergency. Swelling caused by the abscess can disrupt the blood and oxygen supply to the brain. There's also a risk of the abscess bursting (rupturing).

If left untreated, a brain abscess can cause permanent brain damage and could be fatal.

A brain abscess is usually treated using a combination of:
-- medication – either antibiotics or antifungals
-- surgery – either draining the pus through a hole in the skull (simple aspiration) or opening the skull and removing the abscess entirely (craniotomy)

Treatment with antibiotics often begins before a diagnosis is confirmed, to reduce the risk of complications.

Instructions:
Brain abscess can result from direct extension (eg, of mastoiditis, osteomyelitis, sinusitis, or subdural empyema), penetrating wounds (including neurosurgery), or hematogenous spread.

Headache, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, seizures, personality changes, papilledema, and focal neurologic deficits develop over days to weeks; fever may be absent at presentation.

Do contrast-enhanced MRI or, if unavailable, contrast-enhanced CT.