Bacterial Brain Abscesses Expand Despite Effective Antibiotic Treatment: A Process Powered by Osmosis Due to Neutrophil Cell Death.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A bacterial brain abscess is an emergency and should be drained of pus within 24 hours of diagnosis, as recently recommended. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated whether delaying pus drainage entails brain abscess expansion and what the underlying mechanism might be.

METHODS: Repeated brain MRI of 47 patients who did not undergo immediate pus drainage, pus osmolarity measurements, immunocytochemistry, proteomics, and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.

RESULTS: Time from first to last MRI before neurosurgery was 1 to 14 days. Abscesses expanded in all but 2 patients: The median average increase was 23% per day (range 0%-176%). Abscesses expanded during antibiotic therapy and even if the pus did not contain viable bacteria. In a separate patient cohort, we found that brain abscess pus tended to be hyperosmolar (median value 360 mOsm; range 266-497; n = 14; normal cerebrospinal fluid osmolarity is ∼290 mOsm). Hyperosmolarity would draw water into the abscess cavity, causing abscess expansion in a ballooning manner through increased pressure in the abscess cavity. A mechanism likely underlying pus hyperosmolarity was the recruitment of neutrophils to the abscess cavity with ensuing neutrophil cell death and decomposition of neutrophil proteins and other macromolecules to osmolytes: Pus analysis showed the presence of neutrophil proteins (protein-arginine deiminases, citrullinated histone, myeloperoxidase, elastase, cathelicidin). Previous studies have shown very high levels of osmolytes (ammonia, amino acids) in brain abscess pus. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography showed focal neocortical hypometabolism 1 to 8 years after brain abscess, indicating long-lasting damage to brain tissue.

CONCLUSION: Brain abscesses expand despite effective antibiotic treatment. Furthermore, brain abscesses cause lasting damage to surrounding brain tissue. These findings support drainage of brain abscesses within 24 hours of diagnosis.