What e the symptoms of a brain abscess?
The symptoms of brain abscess often develop slowly, usually within a period of about two weeks. The symptoms of brain abscess are caused by a combination of increased intracranial pressure due to a space-occupying lesion (headache, vomiting, confusion, coma), infection (fever, fatigue etc.) and focal neurologic brain tissue damage (hemiparesis, aphasia etc.). The most frequent presenting symptoms are headache, drowsiness, confusion, seizures, hemiparesis or speech difficulties together with fever with a rapidly progressive course. The symptoms and findings depend largely on the specific location of the abscess in the brain. An abscess in the cerebellum, for instance, may cause additional complaints as a result of brain stem compression and hydrocephalus. Neurologic examination may reveal a stiff neck in occasional cases (erroneously suggesting meningitis). The famous triad of fever, headache and focal neurologic findings are highly suggestive of brain abscess but are observed only in a
