BRAIN-ABSCESS IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN

Forty-four consecutive patients with brain abscesses, aged between 1 m onth and 16 years, were reviewed. The cause of abscess was meningitis in 36% of the cases, otitis in 27%, head injury in 16%, congenital hea rt disease in 9%, other in 5%, and undetected in 5%. Thirty patients h ad a single abscess and 12 had multiple abscesses. Multiloculated absc ess was present in 2. Total excision was accomplished in 22 patients. Three patients underwent needle aspiration. Drainage of the abscess wa s performed in 13. Secondary excision was needed in 5 patients. One pa tient was treated nonsurgically. Streptococci, staphylococci and Prote us mirabilis were the microorganisms recovered in cultures. Overall mo rtality was 20% (9 patients). Mortality was significantly higher in pa tients under 2 years of age than in those older. Of 15 patients who we re comatose at the time of admission, 6 died. Etiology, diagnostic met hod, and treatment modalities were not found to be significant factors in terms of predicting mortality.