Combination of drainage and chemotherapy for treatment of a Staphylococcus aureus brain abscess in a pre-term infant

Introduction: Neonatal brain abscess is an uncommon intracranial suppuration that usually occurs as a complication of bacterial meningitis or septicaemia. Staphylococcus aureus rarely causes brain abscesses during the first months of life. Case presentation: A case of a premature infant who developed cerebellar, left temporal and left occipital lobe abscesses after S. aureus sepsis is presented. The pus provided the same S. aureus strain of the sepsis. The patient was treated with vancomycin for 37 days, accompanied by extraction of the purulent material. The abscesses resolved and no sequelae remained. Conclusion: It appears that long antibiotic treatment regimes, when associated with early pus drainage, are effective in resolving infection and abscesses caused by S. aureus in neonates.