title: Primary excision of pediatric posterior fossa abscesses--towards zero mortality? A series of nine cases and review.
abstract: Nine children with infratentorial brain abscesses were treated at our institution over a 3-year period. Seven of them were boys and two were girls. In five cases, the abscesses were otogenic, and in two cases, the cause was tubercular (including one case of tubercular otitis). There were three cases of abscess formation in dermoids. All cases were managed with primary excision of the abscess. The average hospital stay was 12 days, and there was no mortality. The most common complication was hydrocephalus, noticed in three patients, of whom one eventually required shunt placement. Our policy of primary excision of these abscesses has yielded gratifying results. This approach also resulted in minimal morbidity and a substantially shortened hospital stay. Moreover, primary excision yields definitive histopathology of the lesion, especially in cases of tubercular and dermoid etiologies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosciences Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Deepak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Agrawal
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suri
authors.forename: Ashok Kumar
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Mahapatra
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001922:Brain Abscess / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D002526:Cerebellar Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D012086:Reoperation; D015996:Survival Rate; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed