Olah E, Berger C, Boltshauser E, Nadal D
Division of Infectious Diseases, University Children's Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Neuropediatrics. 2004 Aug;35(4):239-41. doi: 10.1055/s-2004-820895.
In a 10-year-old boy presenting with focal seizures and 6 months later with acute right-sided hemiparesis, the diagnosis of a cerebral abscess due to Actinomyces israelii was established. The immunocompetent child suffered from a complex congenital heart disease with pulmonary arteriovenous shunts and pulmonary hypertension causing mild cyanosis. His parents had been reluctant to agree to neuroimaging investigations resulting in a delayed diagnosis. Despite the long interval between first symptoms and commencement of treatment including neurosurgical excision of the abscess followed by a 4-week course of ceftriaxone, a complete recovery of the hemiparesis was observed. This patient is the first case with cerebral actinomycosis before adolescence reported so far.
