UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Call Neurosurgery for that abscess!

Category: Infectious Disease

Keywords: Abscess, brain, drainage, neurosurgery (PubMed Search)

Posted: 6/22/2025 by Robert Flint, MD (Updated: 8/28/2025)
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In a Danish study of 558  patients with a brain abscess, those that had early surgical drainage did better than those treated conservatively with antibiotics only.  Prompt neurosurgical consultation is warranted for these patients.

References

https://www.emjreviews.com/microbiology-infectious-diseases/news/surgery-cuts-brain-abscess-death-risk-and-favored-over-drug-treatment/