title: Curvularia brain abscess.
abstract: Curvularia is a ubiquitous dematiaceous fungus that is a very rare but often fatal cause of infection in the central nervous system (CNS). In this report, we describe a patient with chronic sinusitis who presented with a Curvularia abscess of the skull base extending into the left frontal lobe. She was successfully treated with aggressive surgical resection and antibiotic therapy. In the published literature, this patient to our knowledge represents the longest period of disease-free follow-up in those afflicted with CNS Curvularia infection, indicating the importance of proper diagnosis and aggressive surgical debridement for a successful outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Nisha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gadgil
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kupferman
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smitherman
authors.forename: Gregory N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.forename: Ganesh
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001922:Brain Abscess / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D003904:Mitosporic Fungi / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D009181:Mycoses / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D009493:Neurosurgery; D020556:Neutrophil Infiltration; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents