Unilateral chronic tuboovarian abscess secondary to ruptured colonic diverticulum presenting as a brain abscess - A case report

BACKGROUND: Tuboovarian abscesses (TOAs) are a somewhat unusual finding in postmenopausal patients without risk factors. We present a rare case of uni lateral TOA initially presenting as a brain abscess in a postmenopausal wom an. CASE: A 61-year-old woman presented with a complaint of forgetfulness, naus ea and vomiting, with lower abdominal pain and diarrhea. She was found to h ave a brain abscess, which was treated by craniotomy, with drainage of the abscess, and intravenous antibiotics. The patient was subsequently found to have a pelvic mass, which, on laparotomy, was a unilateral TOA. Pathology demonstrated that the abscess contained vegetable matter consistent with or igin in a ruptured diverticulum. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis of a brain abscess should prompt a thorough investiga tion for a primary infectious source, including the gastrointestinal and ge nitourinary tracts.