A Clinical Case Study of Brain Abscess in a 23-month Old Child From a Rural Malawian Setting

Motivation: Sudden onset of comatose in a 23-month old child who presented with strange features of stroke Goal(s): Our goal was to demonstrate the exact cause of sudden coma in a 23-month old child Approach: We imaged the 23-month old child on admission to the hospital to diagnose the cause of the sudden coma and also 7 days after initial brain surgery to rule out why there was no improvement after initial surgery Results: MR imaging established that the cause of coma was a large brain abscess, accompanied by midline shift compression of the left lateral ventricle that was treated through surgery Impact: Using the low-field MRI scanner, we saved the life of a 23-year old child who had a large brain abscess whose presentation mimicked a stroke. Questions on how long the residual pus will dissolve still remain unanswered