1 Departments of Pediatrics and Radiology, Wilford Hall United States Air Force Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
A 3
-year-old boy with primary staphylococcal septicemia presented with elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein and pleocytosis. Serial computerized tomography examinations revealed the development of an intracranial lesion suggestive of an early infectious process. All cultures of cerebrospinal fluid taken before and after antibiotic treatment revealed no growth. Although no focal neurological findings evolved, both clinical and radiologic abnormalities resolved with antibiotic therapy. Computerized tomography can provide a means to diagnose cerebritis and to evaluate therapeutic response.