Successful Prognosis of Brain Abscess during Pregnancy
A 24-year-old woman who lived in Saitama, Japan had three pregnancies, two childbirths, body mass index (BMI) of 22.3, and unremarkable past medical and family histories. Furthermore, her pre pregnancy weight was 55 kg and her height 163 cm.\nShe also had an uneventful first trimester, but developed a fever of >39°C at 22nd week, 1st day of pregnancy. Because of prolonged headache and nausea, she was referred to our hospital in Saitama for complete physical examination on October 2008. On admission, she had blood pressure of 103/51 mmHg, heart rate of 100 beats per min (bpm), body temperature of 39.0°C, mild stiffness in the neck, and cold extremities. No neurological abnormalities, such as consciousness disturbance or paralysis, were observed. However, brain computed tomography (CT) for the prolonged headache revealed a 1.5 cm mass in the right frontal lobe, while hematological analysis showed an elevated white blood cell count of 12,400 cells/µl (neutrophils, 87.7%). Cerebrospinal fluid findings were positive for gram-positive bacteria, an increased cell count (especially for neutrophils) of 2,332 cells/µl, and a low glucose concentration of 30 mg/dl. Brain MRI revealed a 1.5 cm mass with a high intensity signal inside and a low intensity T2 signal on the margin in the deep white matter of the right frontal lobe. Based on the above findings and a high intensity zone surrounding the mass on diffusion-weighted images, she was immediately placed on intensive therapy with concurrent administration of antibiotics cefotaxime (2 g/day) and meropenem (3 g/day), as well as glycerin 20 g/day to reduce intracranial pressure. shows a list of examinations performed in search of causal factors, while the results show the isolation of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) from the throat. On the other hand, she had no dental problems. Because of unremarkable upper gastrointestinal endoscopy findings and a negative fecal occult blood test result, the possibility of brain metastasis of a malignant tumor was ruled out. After six weeks of intensive therapy with concurrent administration of two antibiotics and glycerin, the headache and nausea disappeared along with a reduction in the number of white blood cells. Subsequent brain MRI at 28th week, 4th day of pregnancy showed no enlargement of the abscess and disappearance of the surrounding edema, with no indication of puncture drainage. At this point, she was switched to oral administration of amoxicillin 750 mg/day for four weeks and was discharged at 29th week, 3rd day of pregnancy. shows the post admission course.\nShe vaginally delivered a 2,890 g girl baby at 38th week, 5th day of pregnancy, with no abnormalities. No neurological abnormalities were evident during a five-year follow-up observation conducted over the phone.\nMRI findings at the 22nd and 28th week of pregnancy are shown in .