Brain abscesses and ischemic necrotic lesions during early childhood.

The cases of seven children, all under 6 months of age, with cerebral abscesses are presented. In four cases, there was previous meningitis; the others presented with expanding mass lesions. The infectious agent was Proteus in four cases and Escherichia coli and Citrobacter in one each; in another patient, no agent was isolated. In six children, there were multiple areas of ischemic necrosis. In one instance, these areas were in the hemisphere contralateral to the purulent collection. The peculiar clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of brain abscesses in this age group are discussed.