Is intracranial infection fatal?

Intracranial infection is a very serious condition, indicating that inflammation has occurred inside the brain. When the infection occurs, the intracranial pressure will increase significantly, and the patient will often fall into a coma. Prolonged coma will lead to an increased mortality rate. Therefore, patients should receive timely treatment. First, we must understand the specific cause of the intracranial infection, make a scientific diagnosis, and then treat the symptoms.

Causes of intracranial infection

The main intracranial infections include meningitis, encephalitis, brain abscess, etc. Pathogens may be bacteria, viruses, parasites, mycoplasma, chlamydia, fungi, rickettsia, etc. In some domestic studies, intracranial infection has been listed as one of the four major hospital infections (lung, urinary system, deep trauma incision, and intracranial).

Pathogens mainly come from one's own flora, but can also come from the external environment, including surrounding patients or medical staff. Intracranial infections in the field of neurosurgery are mostly caused by trauma and surgery; hematogenous abscesses, parasitic diseases, granulomas, and tuberculosis are also common.

Diagnosis of intracranial infection 1. Ask about the time of injury, type of object causing injury, whether there is leakage of cerebrospinal fluid or brain tissue from the wound, and what treatment has been performed.

2. Examination of head wounds: Check the size and shape of the wound, whether there is active bleeding, bone fragments, brain tissue or cerebrospinal fluid outflow.

3. Impairment of consciousness: Patients with limited open injuries that do not damage important brain structures or do not have intracranial hypertension usually have no disturbance of consciousness; however, patients with extensive brain damage, brainstem or hypothalamic injuries, combined with intracranial hematoma or cerebral edema causing intracranial hypertension may have varying degrees of disturbance of consciousness.

4. Focal symptoms depend on the location of brain damage, and may include hemiplegia, aphasia, epilepsy, homonymous hemianopsia, sensory impairment, etc.

5. Symptoms of intracranial hypertension: Patients with severe intracranial pressure increase caused by small wounds, hematoma within the wound, or (and) combined intracranial hematoma and extensive cerebral contusion and laceration may experience headache, vomiting, progressive disturbance of consciousness, and even brain herniation.

6. Skull X-ray to understand the location, type, displacement of skull fracture, location of metal foreign bodies or embedded objects in the skull, etc.

7. CT scan of the head can also diagnose intracranial hematoma, cerebral contusion, subarachnoid hemorrhage, midline shift, ventricular size and shape, intracranial foreign bodies and skull fractures, but it is not as complete as plain X-rays.

8. Lumbar puncture is helpful in understanding whether there is intracranial infection and intracranial pressure.

9. Electroencephalogram is helpful in diagnosing traumatic epilepsy.