{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T14:04:23Z","timestamp":1784297063605,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784246400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Brain abscess is a focal, life-threatening infection of the central nervous system associated with high morbidity and mortality, remaining scarcely studied in low-income settings. This study describes the clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with brain abscess at Hospital Escuela, Honduras (2018\u20132023), including treatment patterns and in-hospital outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A retrospective descriptive case series was conducted at a tertiary referral hospital. Thirteen medical records were identified through ICD-10 coding (G06.0\u2013G06.2). With diagnoses confirmed by radiological, microbiological, or documented clinical-team criteria. Analyzed variables included demographics, predisposing conditions, neuroanatomical location, number and estimated volume of abscesses, neuroimaging modality, microbiological findings, empirical and pathogen-directed antibiotic regimens, intensive care admission, and modified Rankin Scale at discharge. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and proportions with 95% confidence intervals by the Wilson method) were used. The study followed the STROBE reporting guidelines.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Of 13 patients, 61.5% were male, and 53.8% were pediatric (\u226415\u202fyears; range 8\u201314\u202fyears). All abscesses were supratentorial (100%; 95% CI: 77.0\u2013100.0%), with parietal and occipital lobes each affected in 30.8% of cases. Traumatic brain injury was the most frequent individual predisposing condition (23.1%; all three cases pediatric). Etiologic identification at any level was achieved in 30.8% of cases; direct microbiological confirmation from cerebrospinal fluid was available in one case. Identified organisms included\n                      <jats:italic>Streptococcus<\/jats:italic>\n                      spp. and uncommon opportunistic pathogens (\n                      <jats:italic>Burkholderia pseudomallei, Cryptococcus neoformans, Staphylococcus<\/jats:italic>\n                      spp., and\n                      <jats:italic>Nocardia<\/jats:italic>\n                      spp.). Neurological status at admission was preserved in 84.6% (GCS 13\u201315). All patients were managed exclusively with intravenous antimicrobial therapy; no patient underwent neurosurgical drainage. In-hospital mortality was 0, and 46.2% of patients were discharged with no significant disability (mRS 0\u20131), 30.8% with slight disability (mRS 2), and 23.1% with moderate disability (mRS 3).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This first institutional clinical-epidemiological characterization of brain abscess in Honduras demonstrates a pediatric-skewed cohort, a low etiologic identification rate, and a management pattern characterized by exclusive medical therapy. Survival was universal, but substantial neurological morbidity persisted at discharge. The findings should be interpreted as descriptive of a single national referral center and provide baseline data for future multicenter research in Central America.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2026.1826171","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T13:26:05Z","timestamp":1784294765000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Brain abscess in Honduras: a five-year clinical and epidemiological study at Hospital Escuela"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Jes\u00fas","family":"Rodr\u00edguez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras","place":["Tegucigalpa, Honduras"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Pineda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras","place":["Tegucigalpa, Honduras"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Melania","family":"Madrid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Biology, University of Salamanca","place":["Salamanca, Spain"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marcio","family":"Madrid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras","place":["Tegucigalpa, Honduras"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lilian","family":"Sosa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Pedag\u00f3gica Nacional Francisco Moraz\u00e1n","place":["Tegucigalpa, Honduras"]},{"name":"Institute of Microbiological Research (IIM), Faculty of Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH)","place":["Tegucigalpa, Honduras"]},{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Chemical Sciences and Pharmacy, National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH)","place":["Tegucigalpa, Honduras"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lupe Carolina","family":"Espinoza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, Universidad T\u00e9cnica Particular de Loja","place":["Loja, Ecuador"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Isaac","family":"Zablah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras","place":["Tegucigalpa, Honduras"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"136","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijsu.2010.11.005","article-title":"Brain abscess: an overview","volume":"9","author":"Muzumdar","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int J 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