HYPERBARIC EVALUATION AND TREATMENT OF INTRACRANIAL ABSCESS

Course overview

HYPERBARIC OXYGEN (HBO) THERAPY OF INTRACRANIAL ABSCESSES REFERS TO THE FOLLOWING DISORDERS: CEREBRAL ABSCESS, SUBDURAL EMPYEMA, AND EPIDURAL EMPYEMA. IT IS DEFINED AS A FOCAL, ENCAPSULATED INFECTION OF CEREBRAL PARENCHYMA AND IS CAUSED BY A WIDE ARRAY OF MICROORGANISMS SUCH AS BACTERIA, MYCOBACTERIA, PROTOZOA, FUNGI, OR HELMINTHS. IT IS A RELATIVELY RARE CONDITION, WITH THE INCIDENCE ESTIMATED AT 0.3 TO 1.3 PER 100,000. HOWEVER, THIS NUMBER IS BELIEVED TO BE ELEVATED IN PARTICULAR HIGH-RISK GROUPS; FOR EXAMPLE, PATIENTS WITH HIV OR AIDS. THERE ARE MULTIPLE MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTRACRANIAL ABSCESSES. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE CAUSES OF BRAIN ABSCESSES AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THESE PATIENTS.