Vancomycin penetration of a brain abscess: case report and review of the literature.

A 56-year-old man developed an abscess within a right parietal cystic anaplastic astrocytoma 3 days after removal of iodine-125 sources placed 9 days earlier for interstitial radiation therapy. After treatment with cephalosporin antibiotics proved unsuccessful, the patient was treated with intravenous vancomycin and intermittent percutaneous drainage of the abscess. Vancomycin levels obtained from the brain abscess fluid, both before and during later operative removal of the abscess, were 15 and 18 micrograms/ml, respectively; the serum vancomycin level was 21 micrograms/ml. This is the first report of the excellent penetration of vancomycin into brain abscess fluid.