Computed tomography-guided drainage of a canine intracerebral abscess

An approximately 7-week-old female American Bulldog was presented for head injury and seizures. The dog was obtunded with absent left-sided postural reactions, absent left palpebral reflex, delayed vestibulo-ocular reflex bilaterally, and calvarial hyperesthesia. CT revealed a fragmented, depressed fracture of the right frontal bone, with an associated abscess and evidence of raised intracranial pressure. The dog initially declined on medical management. Following a CT-guided drainage procedure, the dog improved and remained clinically well twenty months later. This is the first report of minimally-invasive sequential CT allowing successful drainage and culture of a canine intracerebral abscess.