Neuroendoscopy of Brain Abscess May Be Best for Some Patients

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The study covered in this summary was published in medRxiv.org as a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed.

Key Takeaways

  • Neuroendoscopy for the treatment of patients with brain abscesses has curative effects and is associated with less trauma, fewer complications, and rapid postoperative recovery compared to other methods.

  • Neuroendoscopy may be the optimal treatment for many patients and warrants promotion in the clinic.

Why This Matters

  • Brain abscess remains a challenging clinical problem with a substantial fatality rate.

  • Traditional craniotomy abscess resection and burr-hole drainage surgical approaches have disadvantages.

  • Advances in neuroendoscopy technology and its wide clinical application have resulted in better surgical options for the treatment of brain abscess.

Study Design

  • This retrospective, single-center study involved a cohort of 61 patients with brain abscesses who were admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University between 2016 and 2021.

  • The patients were divided into three groups on the basis of the surgical approach used. There were 12 cases of neuroendoscopic drainage or abscess resection, 20 cases of burr-hole drainage, and 29 cases of craniotomy abscess resection.

  • SPSS 24.0 was used to analyze and compare clinical data, surgical efficacy, postoperative complications, and follow-up indicators.

  • A one-way analysis of variance and a chi-square test were conducted; P < .05 was considered statistically significant.

Key Results

  • The neuroendoscopy group exhibited the most rapid relief of headache and vomiting, the fastest recovery of leukocyte count, the shortest postoperative hospitalization time, and the lowest total hospitalization cost (P < .05).

  • There was a significant difference between the total effective rates in the neuroendoscopy group (100%), the craniotomy group (97%), and the burr-hole drainage group (95%) (P = .020).

  • There were no significant differences in effectiveness, the ineffective rate, or the recurrence rate between the three groups.

Limitations

  • The study was retrospective and was conducted in a single center with a small sample size; thus, the results need to be verified with large-sample, multicenter, prospective studies.

  • The follow-up time of the study was short, which may have led to an underestimation of the time of real events.

Disclosures

  • The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Wuhan Science and Technology plan project, and the foundation of China Scholarship Council.

  • The study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and was granted exemption by the Ethics Committee of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University.

This is a summary of a preprint research study, “Evaluation of Short-term Efficacy and Safety of Neuroendoscopy in the Treatment of Patients With Brain Abscess,” written by Li Cheng from the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University and colleagues. It was published on Research Square and was provided to you by Medscape. The study has not yet been peer reviewed. The full text of the study can be found on researchsquare.com.

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