title: Early multimodality treatment of intracranial abscesses.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The treatment of brain abscesses remains one of the success stories of contemporary neurosurgery; what began as a nearly uniformly fatal disease at the turn of the 20th century has become a largely curable ailment through the use of operative and pharmaceutical intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  Following institutional review board approval, and through the courtesy of the Alan Mason Chesney Archives, the surgical files of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1896 to 1912, were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of six patients were operated on for intracranial abscesses. Three patients died during their admission, the remaining three were discharged with a condition listed as "improved" or "well."
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cushing employed a variety of operative drainage techniques for intracranial abscesses and implemented an early antibacterial agent to provide adjuvant treatment in one patient. Although these cases demonstrate a 50% mortality rate, they provide insight into the challenges faced by neurosurgeons treating intracranial abscesses at the turn of the 20th century.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors: Courtney
authors: C
authors: Pendleton
authors: George I
authors: GI
authors: Jallo
authors: Alfredo
authors: A
authors: Quiñones-Hinojosa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000892:Anti-Infective Agents, Urinary / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001922:Brain Abscess / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008709:Methenamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000892:Anti-Infective Agents, Urinary; D008709:Methenamine