BURKHOLDERIA (PSEUDOMONAS) CEPACIA AS A CAUSE OF BRAIN ABSCESSES SECONDARY TO CHRONIC SUPPURATIVE OTITIS-MEDIA

A patient with a cholesteatoma secondary to chronic suppurative otitis media developed infective complications including cerebellar and cere bello-pontine abscesses. Burkholderia cepacia was isolated from ear sw abs, infected tissue and surgical pus on five occasions over a six-mon th period, Despite exhibiting three different antibiotic susceptibilit y profiles, all five isolates were confirmed as clonally indistinguish able by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. To the best of the authors' knowledge there are no previous reports of Burkholderia cepacia causin g infection of the adult central nervous system.