Re-Operation Rates after Burr-Hole Aspiration of Brain Abscess

Objectives:  To determine the re-operation rates after burr-hole aspiration of brain abscess. Materials & Methods:  The cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2022 to January 2023 at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). A single burr-hole aspiration was used to treat a total of 64 cerebral abscess patients. Demographics, clinical presentation, predisposing variables, abscess location on imaging, and clinical outcomes were examined in medical records. Results:  The study included 64 patients with 60.9% males and 39.1% females. Patients most commonly presented with headache (90.6%) and fever (81.2%) with the majority of patients (92.1%) aged less than 30 years. The commonest source of infection was congenital heart disease (29.6%) in both aspiration and re-aspirations (46.6%). The parietal region was the most common location in both aspiration (32.8%) and re-aspiration (40%) of abscesses with the majority (40%) of re-aspirations done in the 3rd postoperative month. Conclusion:  Single burr-hole aspiration is a safe and effective method for the management of brain abscesses. It is a less invasive procedure and is associated with minimal complications. The learning curve is short and safely be performed by neurosurgeons in training. Keywords:  Brain abscess, Burr-hole aspiration, Re-aspiration, Infection, Meningitis.