Varied imaging and clinical presentations of acute bacterial cerebritis

Infectious diseases affecting the central nervous system remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries and in immunocompromised patients. Cerebritis refers to pyogenic inflammation of the brain parenchyma that may lead to abscess formation if left untreated. Cerebritis is an uncommon diagnosis as patients are usually diagnosed at the stage of abscess formation. We present three cases of bacterial cerebritis with different clinical manifestations and varied appearances on MRI. To our knowledge, only few case reports of bacterial cerebritis have been published in the literature, and imaging findings are not fully elucidated. These cases of bacterial cerebritis add valuable information to the existing literature and would be helpful in making the appropriate diagnosis of this uncommon condition that can be medically managed if diagnosed appropriately. We recommend that cerebritis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of such lesions.