Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar 18;25(1):373.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-025-10770-4.

Clinical characteristics, complications, and outcome of brain abscess treated by stereotactic aspiration: a retrospective analysis

Yuxiang Cai  1 , Jian Liu  1 , Ge Jia  1 , Yonghong Hou  1   2 , Yanjin Wang  3
Affiliations

Clinical characteristics, complications, and outcome of brain abscess treated by stereotactic aspiration: a retrospective analysis

Yuxiang Cai et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical presentation, imaging features, and outcome of patients diagnosed with brain abscess and treated by stereotactic aspiration.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical data of all consecutive patients diagnosed with brain abscess who underwent stereotactic aspiration in our department from 2015 to 2022. The demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, radiological data, microbial aetiology, and outcome were collected and analyzed using t-test or χ2 tests.

Results: Overall, 120 patients were identified. The mean age was 49.7 years (range: 5-81); 59.2% were male. Seventy-nine patients (65.8%) had comorbidities, of which cardiovascular diseases was the most common. Most of the abscesses were solitary frontal or temporal lesions. A microbiological diagnosis was secured in 70 (58.3%) of cases, among which the majority were of the Streptococcus spp. Outcome was favorable in 107 (89.2%) of cases. The mortality rate during the initial hospital stay was 2.5%. A total of 10 individuals (8.3%) presented with preoperative delirium or coma, which was associated with an inferior clinical outcome compared to those who exhibited clear consciousness. (p = 0.01).

Conclusions: Stereotactic aspiration was a safe intervention with a low incidence of complications. The combination of stereotactic aspiration and antibiotic therapy was an effective treatment strategy for brain abscess. Patients who underwent stereotactic aspiration while in a state of disturbance of consciousness demonstrated a poorer outcome compared to those who were conscious.

Clinical trial number: Not applicable.

Keywords: Brain abscess; Outcome; Stereotactic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the ethics committee of the Xiangya Hospital of Central South University (No. 2023030736). All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. As per national legislation and institutional guidelines, it was not necessary to obtain written informed consent to participate from the participants of this study. And the ethics committee of the Xiangya Hospital of Central South University approved the waiver for the need of informed consent. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Bodilsen J, Dalager-Pedersen M, van de Beek D, Brouwer MC, Nielsen H. Long-term mortality and epilepsy in patients after brain abscess: A nationwide Population-Based matched cohort study. Clin Infect Diseases: Official Publication Infect Dis Soc Am. 2020;71(11):2825–32. - PubMed
    1. Bodilsen J, Dalager-Pedersen M, van de Beek D, Brouwer MC, Nielsen H. Incidence and mortality of brain abscess in Denmark: a nationwide population-based study. Clin Microbiol Infection: Official Publication Eur Soc Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2020;26(1):95–100. - PubMed
    1. Huang J, Wu H, Huang H, Wu W, Wu B, Wang L. Clinical characteristics and outcome of primary brain abscess: a retrospective analysis. BMC Infect Dis. 2021;21(1):1245. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Laulajainen-Hongisto A, Lempinen L, Färkkilä E, Saat R, Markkola A, Leskinen K, Blomstedt G, Aarnisalo AA, Jero J. Intracranial abscesses over the last four decades; changes in aetiology, diagnostics, treatment and outcome. Infect Dis (London England). 2016;48(4):310–6. - PubMed
    1. Corsini Campioli C, Castillo Almeida NE, O’Horo JC, Esquer Garrigos Z, Wilson WR, Cano E, DeSimone DC, Baddour LM, Van Gompel JJ, Sohail MR. Bacterial brain abscess: an outline for diagnosis and management. Am J Med. 2021;134(10):1210–e12171212. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources