Brain abscess after esophageal dilation for caustic stricture: report of three cases

Of 127 patients with intracranial suppuration (brain abscess and subdural empyema) treated from 1971 to 1984, 3 were children with brain abscesses who previously had developed esophageal stricture from the ingestion of caustic substances. Each child had undergone esophageal dilation on several occasions before the development of focal neurological findings. Surgical resection of the abscess resulted in good to excellent neurological recovery in all 3 patients. Two of the patients have been followed for long periods and have developed other severe illnesses, suggesting a defective immune status. Review of the English literature provides 8 other cases of this complication of esophageal stricture, with which the reported cases are compared.