{"id":"54198f2b-b991-49e4-ad53-f78a764b6878","slug":"prevotella-brain-abscess-in-a-healthy-patient-with-a-patent-foramen-ovale-case-report","title":"<em>Prevotella</em> brain abscess in a healthy patient with a patent foramen ovale: Case report","authors":["Yu Akimoto","Kiyoyuki Yanaka","Kuniyuki Onuma","Kazuhiro Nakamura","Eiichi Ishikawa"],"abstract":"Background: Brain abscesses are relatively rare life-threatening infectious lesions often concomitant with a direct spillover of inflammation in the head or neck, hematogenous infections, and immunocompromised conditions. They rarely occur in adults without such predisposing factors. Prevotella is a well-known dental pathogen that very rarely causes brain abscesses. Case Description: We report such an abscess in a 51-year-old man who was innately healthy and had no oral lesions. A comprehensive computed tomography examination of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis, was inconclusive but a transesophageal echocardiogram bubble study revealed a mild patent foramen ovale (PFO) that matched Grade 1 criteria. We deduced that the right-left shunt due to the PFO could have contributed to the brain infection and treated the patient successfully via surgical abscess aspiration and antibiotics. Conclusion: In case of a brain abscess occurring in healthy adults, it is essential to investigate the source of infection and the existence of an arterio-venous shunt, such as PFO.","thumbnailUrl":"https://sni-digital-videos.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/54198f2b-b991-49e4-ad53-f78a764b6878/featured/hero-1781561884744.png","publishDate":"2021-11-02T00:00:00.000Z","doi":"10.25259/SNI_783_2021","categories":["Infection","Case Report"],"fullTextUrl":"https://surgicalneurologyint.com/api/articles/54198f2b-b991-49e4-ad53-f78a764b6878/pdf"}