Welcome to PICU Doc On Call, A Podcast Dedicated to Current and Aspiring Intensivists.
I'm Pradip Kamat coming to you from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta/Emory University School of Medicine and I'm Rahul Damania from Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital. We are two Pediatric ICU physicians passionate about all things MED-ED in the PICU. PICU Doc on Call focuses on interesting PICU cases & management in the acute care pediatric setting so let’s get into our episode:
Welcome to our Episode about a 4-year-old girl with a chief complaint of headache and vomiting
Here's the case:
A 4-year-old presents to the PICU with headaches + vomiting and abnormal CT scan findings. The patient presented to the ED with h/o abdominal pain X 5 days with nonbilious, non-bloody emesis. Initial CBC, UA was normal. The patient was given some pain meds and IV fluids. Further history revealed that the patient has been having severe headaches for the last 5 days and had emesis secondary to the headaches resulting in generalized, non-specific abdominal pain. No h/o of trauma or seizures, no h/o of fever or diarrhea, no h/o toxic ingestions h/o recent travel, exposure to sick contacts, COVID test negative. No family h/o migraines, her immunizations are UTD. Besides the normal UA and CBC, her CMP was also normal.
A CT scan of the head revealed right frontoparietal mass with moderate surrounding edema, 6 mm leftward midline shift, diffuse sulcal narrowing, and right cisternal narrowing. Imaging of the abdomen (US and CT w/ contrast) was unremarkable. An MRI done revealed: Right parietal diffusion restricting lesion, most compatible with abscess. Moderate surrounding vasogenic edema. Given her abdominal pain- Abdominal KUB as well as contrast CT scan of abdomen and pelvis were performed and revealed no abdominopelvic pathology.
In the ED her vitals were normal and the patient was afebrile. On her PE: the patient appeared sleepy but woke up and answered questions appropriately. No focal deficits, PERRL, normal tone and strength. The rest of her physical exam was completely normal. She now is transferred to the PICU for serial neurological exams.
To summarize key elements from this case, this patient has:
Headache with altered mental status
No focal deficits
Vomiting
surprisingly no fever
Imaging showing right frontoparietal mass.
All of which brings up a concern for brain abscess
This episode will be organized…
Epidemiology and pathogenesis
Diagnosis
Management

Rahul, can you inform our listeners about the epidemiology of brain abscesses?
Only about 25% of brain abscesses occur in children. Incidence in developed countries is about 1-2% while in developing countries it's about 8%. Peak incidence in children is seen between the ages of 4-7 years and is more common in males. Brain abscess in the neonatal age group is rare but are associated with a higher risk of complications and mortality.
Risk factors for brain abscess include Otologic infections (ear, sinus, and dental infections), Congenital heart disease (30% of patients with BA have an underlying heart defect) with intra-cardiac or intrapulmonary shunting (pulmonary AV malformations in hemorrhagic telangiectasis), immunodeficiencies (solid organ transplantation, HIV, etc), prolonged steroid use, diabetes, alcoholism neurosurgical procedures, trauma. Other rare causes can be airway foreign bodies, congenital dermal sinuses, and esophageal procedures (such as dilatations).
Brain abscess typically begins with a localized area of cerebritis which evolves through various stages (typically 10-14 days) to develop into an encapsulated collection of purulent material with peripheral gliosis or fibrosis.
40-50% of the spread of infection is via a contiguous site of infection such as otitis, sinusitis or mastoiditis or from head trauma or neurosurgical procedure. 30-40% is spread through the hematogenous route from endocarditis, pulmonary infections, or dental abscess.
90% of brain...