Abstract
Intracranial abscesses caused by odontogenic infections rarely occur. Furthermore, brain abscesses rarely occur in the occipital lobe. We encountered a case of an occipital lobe brain abscess caused by an odontogenic infection.
A 59-year-old man had a one-year history of chronic intermittent tooth pain, mainly in the right upper molar region. Two weeks after the last toothache subsided, he developed a severe headache. He consulted the neurosurgery department of our hospital. Because a malignant tumor of the occipital lobe was suspected based on an imaging evaluation, a craniotomy was performed. Pus was encountered intraoperatively, and a definitive diagnosis of a brain abscess was reached. Postoperatively, the patient consulted our department to determine whether the source of infection was derived from the oral area. Macroscopically, few obvious abnormalities were found in the oral area. Additionally, an accurate interview was difficult due to the influence of the craniotomy. Periodontitis was not confirmed until a jawbone imaging evaluation 10 days later. Oral anaerobic bacteria were thereafter confirmed in the pus specimen from the brain. Tooth extraction and oral care were performed in parallel with the antibacterial treatment administered for the neurosurgery. The brain abscess shrank and the patient’s postoperative condition was good.
