Clinical and Epidemiological Insights on Brain Abscess Cases in Honduras

Overview

This study presents a five-year review of brain abscess cases at Hospital Escuela in Honduras, highlighting a pediatric-skewed cohort and a low rate of etiologic identification. All patients received intravenous antimicrobial therapy, with no in-hospital mortality reported.

Background

Brain abscess is a serious and potentially life-threatening infection of the central nervous system, often leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Understanding its clinical and epidemiological profile in low-resource settings is crucial. This study describes the characteristics and outcomes of brain abscess cases in Honduras.

Data Highlights

Key Findings

• 61.5% of patients were male, and 53.8% were pediatric.
• All abscesses were located supratentorially, with parietal and occipital lobes affected in 30.8% of cases.
• Traumatic brain injury was the most common predisposing condition (23.1%).
• Etiologic identification was achieved in 30.8% of cases, with organisms including Streptococcus spp. and opportunistic pathogens.
• All patients received intravenous antimicrobial therapy, with no neurosurgical drainage performed.
• 46.2% of patients were discharged with no significant disability (mRS 0-1).

Clinical Implications

The findings highlight the need for improved diagnostic capabilities in low-resource settings to enhance etiological identification of brain abscesses. Clinicians should be aware of the high prevalence of pediatric cases and the potential for significant neurological morbidity despite universal survival.

Conclusion

This study provides a description of brain abscess cases in Honduras.

Related Resources & Content

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3. Evolution of Pathogen Profiles in Spontaneous Brain Abscess Development: Insights from a 21-Year Single-Center Study
4. European society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of brain abscess in children and adults
5. Impact of Laboratory and Imaging Findings on Clinical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Surgery for Primary Brain Abscesses
6. European society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of brain abscess in children and adults
7. Clinical features and outcome of brain abscess after introduction of CT and MRI: A meta-analysis - ScienceDirect
8. Profiles of primary brain abscesses and their impact on survival: An international ID-IRI study - ScienceDirect
9. Augmented pathogen detection in brain abscess using metagenomic next-generation sequencing: a retrospective cohort study | Microbiology Spectrum