[Intracranial hemorrhage complicating acute disseminated staphylococcal disease in a child].

Acute disseminated staphylococcal disease may develop in previously healthy children below the age of 15 years. It progresses rapidly and may cause death in a significant number. The diagnostic criteria are infection in 2 or more anatomical sites and isolation of a coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus from the blood or from a site of infection. We present an 11.5-year-old boy with disseminated staphylococcal disease with evidence of cellulitis, osteomyelitis and endocarditis. He developed intracranial hemorrhage as a complication and survived, but with mild residual hemiparesis. Nervous system involvement, such as meningitis and brain abscess, have been described in this particularly severe disease. This is the only known report of intracranial hemorrhage as a complication of the disease.