The brain & Nervous Disease
DEFINITIONS
The brain abscess is a localized accumulation of pus in the brain.
CAUSE
A brain abscess is rare and may be a result of:
- The spread of infection in other parts of the head (egg, teeth, nose or ears)
- Head injury that penetrates into the brain
- Infections in other parts of the body, which is spread through blood.
SYMPTOMS
A brain abscess can cause various symptoms, depending on location. Symptoms can include headache, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, seizures, personality changes, and other symptoms of brain dysfunction. These symptoms can occur within several days or several weeks. Initially patients experience fever and chills, but these symptoms could disappear when the body successfully ward off the infection.
DIAGNOSIS
The best examination to find a brain abscess is a CT scan or MRI. Biopsy performed to rule out the possibility of tumor or stroke and to determine the organism causing the abscess.
TREATMENT
Treatment for brain abscess is an antibiotic, the most commonly used are penicillin, metronidazole, nursling and cephalosporins (egg seftizoksim). Antibiotics are usually continued until 4-6 weeks and a CT scan and MRI examination was repeated every 2 weeks. If antibiotics are unable to solve this situation, then performed surgery to remove the pus.
Sometimes the abscess led to increased pressure and swelling in the brain. The situation is very serious and can cause permanent brain damage, so given corticosteroids and other drugs (egg mannitol) to reduce brain swelling and reducing the pressure inside the brain.
