Otogenic Brain Abscess: The Syracuse Experience

A review is presented of five cases of otogenic brain abscesses (from among 34 cases of brain abscesses of all causes) treated during a 16-year period at a major university hospital in upstate New York. Although the morbidity and mortality rates are high for patients with brain abscess, advances in the microbial isolation methods, specificity of antimicrobial agents, and earlier diagnosis by CT scans have all contributed to an improved outcome for this dreaded disease.