Open AccessAn adult with atrial septal defect presenting with a brain abscess
Author(s) -
Bijesh Ravindran Nair,
Edmond Jonathan,
Ranjith K Moorthy,
Vedantam Rajshekhar,
Oommen K George
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
asian journal of neurosurgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1793-5482
DOI - 10.4103/ajns.ajns_194_14
Subject(s) - medicine , brain abscess , shunt (medical) , abscess , tetralogy of fallot , heart disease , surgery , cardiology
The common heart diseases resulting in a brain abscess are associated with a right to left shunt and include tetralogy of Fallot and transposition of great vessels. Atrial septal defect (ASD) is almost always associated with the left to right shunt and therefore is not a commonly considered risk factor for brain abscess. We report the case of a 29-year-old male, with no symptoms of cardiac disease, who presented with the left posterior frontal pyogenic abscess which led to the detection of a silent ASD. Our case emphasizes the need for a careful evaluation of the source of infection in patients with a brain abscess.