Abscess ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use* ; Cerebral Ventriculitis/drug therapy* ; Encephalitis/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Pneumonia/etiology*

Balo's concentric sclerosis (BCS) is considered a rare variant of multiple sclerosis, which often mimics an intracranial neoplasm or abscess. We report the case of a 21-year-old woman presenting with BCS while undergoing treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis. Initial brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were similar to those for cerebral tuberculoma, multiple metastases, or abscesses. However, the pathognomonic concentric sclerosis characteristic of BCS was seen on MRI. The antemortem confirmatory diagnosis of BCS was made by follow-up MRI and a brain biopsy. It is suggested that BCS should be included in the differential diagnosis of cerebral tuberculoma, especially in developing countries with a high prevalence of tuberculosis.
Abscess ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Biopsy ; Brain ; Brain Neoplasms ; Developing Countries ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Diffuse Cerebral Sclerosis of Schilder* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Multiple Sclerosis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prevalence ; Sclerosis ; Tuberculoma* ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; Young Adult

Cases of incomplete Kawasaki disease (KD), wherein the patient does not fulfill the full diagnostic criteria for KD, are often detected in infants younger than 6 months of age. The clinical manifestations in infants with incomplete KD may resemble other infectious diseases, including meningitis. For this reason, clinicians may have difficulty differentiating incomplete KD from other infectious diseases in this population. Various neurological features are associated with KD, including aseptic meningitis, subdural effusion, facial nerve palsy, cerebral infarction, encephalopathy, and reversible corpus callosum splenial lesions on magnetic resonance imaging. We report a case of a 5-month-old girl with incomplete KD, associated with cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis and an epidural fluid collection. Echocardiography indicated dilatation of the main coronary arteries. The girl made a complete recovery, with resolution of both the epidural fluid collection and coronary artery aneurysms. In this case, the child is well, and showed normal developmental milestones at the 7-month follow-up.
Aneurysm ; Cerebral Infarction ; Cerebrospinal Fluid* ; Child ; Communicable Diseases ; Coronary Vessels ; Corpus Callosum ; Dilatation ; Echocardiography ; Epidural Abscess ; Facial Nerve ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infant* ; Leukocytosis* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Meningitis ; Meningitis, Aseptic ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Paralysis ; Subdural Effusion

Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis (CP) is a very rare but serious form of central nervous system fungal infection that is caused by dematiaceous fungi. It is commonly associated with poor prognosis irrespective of the immune status of the patient. In this study, the authors describe the first case of CP in Korea that occurred in a 75-year-old man without immunodeficiency and showed favorable outcome after surgical excision and antifungal therapy. In addition, the authors herein review the literature regarding characteristics of this rare clinical entity with previously reported cases.
Aged ; Brain Abscess* ; Central Nervous System ; Cerebral Phaeohyphomycosis* ; Fungi ; Humans ; Korea ; Prognosis

Recently, serotype K1 Klebsiella pneumoniae has been a major agent of an invasive syndrome characterized by liver abscess and its metastatic infection. Extrahepatic infection and its characteristics in patients with renal abscess caused by K. pneumoniae are poorly understood, and few cases of central nervous system infection have been reported. This is a report of 80-year-old woman with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus with renal abscess caused by serotype K1 K. pneumoniae, complicated with ventriculitis despite of appropriate use of antibiotics. Physicians need to be aware of possibility of metastatic infection in patients with serotype K1 K. pneumoniae infection, if they develop neurologic symptom and focus of infection is still present.
Abscess* ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Central Nervous System Infections ; Cerebral Ventriculitis ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Female ; Humans ; Klebsiella pneumoniae* ; Liver Abscess ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Pneumonia

Rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) is caused by invasion of orbital and intracranial structures directly or through the blood vessels of fungi of the Order Mucorales. It is the most fulminant form of mucormycosis and can manifest brain abscess, cranial nerve palsies, thrombosis or aneurysm, as well as sinusitis, facial or nasal deformity. We report one ROCM case complicated by recurrent cerebral infarctions after involvement of cavernous sinus and meningeal inflammation, despite treatment with surgical debridement and high dose intravenous amphotericin B.
Amphotericin B ; Aneurysm ; Blood Vessels ; Brain Abscess ; Cavernous Sinus ; Cerebral Infarction ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Cranial Nerve Diseases ; Debridement ; Fungi ; Inflammation ; Meningitis ; Mucorales ; Mucormycosis ; Orbit ; Sinusitis ; Thrombosis ; Vasculitis

A 24-year-old man presented with mental change, fever, abdominal pain, tenderness and palpable mass on the lower abdomen. He was a non-Korean engineer and did not accompany a legal guardian, so medical history taking was difficult due to his mental status. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple rim-enhanced lesions of the brain, and abdominal computed tomography showed huge paraspinal abscess. Chest X-ray and computed tomography showed poorly defined nodular opacities. We initially thought that this patient was infected with toxoplasmosis with typical cerebral image finding and immunoglobulin laboratory finding of cerebrospinal fluid and serum study. The abdominal abscess was confirmed as tuberculosis through the pathologic finding of caseous necrosis. We used anti-tuberculosis medication and anti-toxoplasmosis medication for almost 4 months, and then his clinical state and radiological findings were considerably improved.
Abdomen ; Abdominal Abscess ; Abdominal Pain ; Abscess ; Brain ; Fever ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Legal Guardians ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Medical History Taking ; Necrosis ; Thorax ; Toxoplasmosis ; Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral ; Tuberculosis ; Young Adult

Cerebral hemorrhage is one of the most common causes of dysphagia. In many cases, dysphagia gets better once the acute phase has passed. Structural lesions such as thyromegaly, cervical hyperostosis, congenital web, Zenker's diverticulum, neoplasm, radiation fibrosis, and retropharyngeal abscess must be considered as other causes of dysphagia as well. Retropharyngeal abscess seldom occur in adults and if it does so, a search for a prior dental procedure, trauma, head and neck infection is needed. The symptoms may include neck pain, dysphagia, sore throat, and in rare cases, dyspnea accompanied by stridor. We present a case and discuss a patient who had dysphagia and neck pain after a cerebral hemorrhage. Testing revealed a retropharyngeal abscess. The symptoms were successfully treated after the administration of antibiotics.
Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Deglutition Disorders ; Dyspnea ; Humans ; Hyperostosis ; Neck ; Neck Pain ; Pharyngitis ; Radiation Pneumonitis ; Respiratory Sounds ; Retropharyngeal Abscess ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Zenker Diverticulum

PURPOSE: To report a case of a endogenous Aspergillus endophthalmitis associated with mycotic cerebral aneurysmal rupture. CASE SUMMARY: A 51-year-old woman was referred to our retina clinic for decreased visual acuity in the left eye. The patient had previously undergone a liver transplant for liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. On fundus examination, vitreous opacities with a yellowish-white subretinal abscess were observed. There were no abnormal findings except the positive sign in the laboratory serum Aspergillus antigen test performed on admission. Based on the suspicion of endogenous endophthalmitis, pars plana vitrectomy was performed with intravitreal antibiotics injection to treat fungal and bacterial infections. There was no growth in either the vitreous or anterior chamber culture. After vitrectomy, visual acuity improved and the inflammation subsided. However, by the three-week follow-up, acute-onset left hemiplegia with a right hemisphere cerebral hemorrhage had occurred. Cerebral magnetic resonance angiography showed multiple mycotic aneurysms characterized by a large and fusiform appearance. The patient was treated with neuro-embolization and was stabilized with minimal sequalae. CONCLUSIONS: Although the immunocompromised endophthalmitis patient can be treated using proper management, brain lesions such as mycotic aneurysm may exist and should be carefully considered.
Abscess ; Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, Infected ; Anterior Chamber ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Aspergillus ; Bacterial Infections ; Brain ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Endophthalmitis ; Eye ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemiplegia ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Magnetic Resonance Angiography ; Middle Aged ; Retina ; Transplants ; Visual Acuity ; Vitrectomy

Brain abscess following ischemic stroke is a very rare and dangerous condition that can have catastrophic results, and thus requires urgent and comprehensive evaluation. We report a case of a patient with brain abscess that developed at the lesion site of a previous cerebral infarction. The disruption of the blood-brain barrier in the infarcted lesion might facilitate abscess formation, making it a preferred target for infectious agents.
Abscess ; Blood-Brain Barrier ; Brain ; Brain Abscess ; Brain Infarction ; Cerebral Infarction ; Humans ; Stroke