Brain Abscess Surgery Outcome: A Comparison between Craniotomy with Membrane Excision versus Burr Hole Aspiration

Abstract

Introduction: Brain abscess represents 8% of intracranial masses in developing countries. Despite the advances in neuro-imaging, still, the diagnosis of brain abscess is difficult and may need a biopsy in most cases to verify the diagnosis because may even lead to death. CT scan with contrast is a good tool for diagnosing and localizing brain abscesses in late stages, however, it is difficult to diagnose them in the early stages. The development of MRI helps to more accurately diagnose brain abscess. Surgical management of brain abscesses is either medical or surgical through craniotomy or burr holes. Indications of each are still a point of debate among most neurosurgeons. Methodology: This is a descriptive longitudinal prospective study to compare the outcomes of two surgical procedures used in The National Centre for Neurological Sciences-Khartoum-Sudan (NCNS) from 2012 to 2015, craniotomy and excision of the abscess membrane versus burr hole and aspiration of brain abscess in terms of duration of hospitalization, length of antibiotic use, recurrence rate, number of images needed for follow-up, and the final postoperative early and late outcomes. The data was collected through a designed questionnaire and was then analyzed using SPSS version 20. No significant ethical approval was required for this study. Results: Fifty-four patients were operated on through craniotomy (29/54) and burr hole (25/54). Their ages ranged from 1 year to 53 years with an average presentation at 13 years of age. Most patients presented with fever (23.1%), convulsions (16%), vomiting (16.7%) and headache (15.4%). The mean of illness for both groups was almost 2 months. The majority of patients in this study were having no risk factors (38.9%) while the major risk factors seen were cardiac diseases (14.8%), neurosurgical procedures (13%) and otitis media (11.1%). As most patients presented late, the diagnosis of most was made using CT brain with contrast (83.3%). In most of the patients (85.2%) there were no organisms separated in the culture. 8/54 patients had positive cultures, 7/8 were bacterial and only one (1/8) was fungal. Most patients received antibiotics for 45 days postoperatively in both craniotomy and burr hole groups. When both groups were compared, those operated with craniotomy were found to have a relatively higher length of hospital stay, however, no significant difference was found between both groups. Also, it was found that those operated on with craniotomy had a high cure rate and less recurrence in comparison with burr hole group. Deterioration and death were significantly higher among craniotomy group. Only CT brain was used as the imaging modality of choice for follow-up in both groups for 4 months’ duration and it was noted that complete evacuation was significantly higher among craniotomy group while remnants were higher among burr hole group. Conclusion: Brain abscess is still a challenging condition for neurosurgeons in Sudan. The limited number of Sudanese neurosurgeons, neurosurgical centers and diagnostic facilities contributed to delay in diagnosing brain abscess in most patients. It is important to design a strict protocol and precautions for any neurosurgical operation or bedside procedure to prevent infection and subsequent brain abscess development. CT brain with contrast is a good imaging tool for assessing the size, site and stage of brain abscesses. No significant difference between craniotomy or burr hole for clearance from brain abscess in terms of antibiotic used or duration of hospital stay. However, burr hole aspiration is associated with higher rates of recurrences. On the other hand, craniotomy and excision have relatively higher neurologic morbidity postoperative with expectantly higher post-operative hospitalization but no differences in the final outcome. Therefore, the selection of surgical technique should be individualized in each case based on the abscess site size source patient fitness for surgery and neurosurgeon’s preference.