BRAIN ABSCESS IN A PEDIATRIC PATIENT: CASE REPORT AND LITERARY REVIEW

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.1592722217118

• Palavras-chave: Suppurative Infection. Brain parenchyma. pathogens.

• Keywords: Suppurative Infection. Brain parenchyma. pathogens.

• Abstract:

  The study is a Case Report on "Brain Abscess", which was treated in the pediatric ward of a Municipal Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, in 2021. This disease is characterized by being a focal suppurative infection (neutrophils and necrotic tissue) located within the brain parenchyma, caused by a variety of bacterial, fungal and parasitic organisms. Disorders that predispose to Brain Abscess include otitis media, paranasal rhinosinusitis, pyogenic infections of the chest, head trauma, among other sites that usually proliferate hematogenously (25%).

  The most important pathogens are Streptococcus, Enterobacteriaceae, anaerobes and staphylococci, and their clinical manifestations reflect a triad characterized by the infectious nature of the lesion, focal brain involvement and progressive intracranial mass effect, with the evolution of signs and symptoms being extremely variable, and may present as headache, altered consciousness, fever, neck stiffness, nausea and vomiting to convulsive crises, dysarthria, hemiparesis and sepsis.

  Currently, there are two types of treatment for this disease in pediatric patients, the first aspect being the indication of the use of intravenous antibiotics to treat the infection and in more severe cases, surgical interventions are recommended for a better prognosis of these patients.