Bacteria known to cause oral infections may also be a contributory factor in patients developing potentially life-threatening abscesses on the brain, new research has shown.
The study, published in the Journal of Dentistry, investigated brain abscesses and their association with bacteria that occur in the oral cavity. While this type of abscess is relatively uncommon, it can result in significant mortality and morbidity.
Researchers examined the records of 87 patients admitted to hospital with brain abscesses, and used microbiological data obtained from abscess sampling and peripheral cultures.
This allowed them to investigate the presence of oral bacteria in patients’ brain abscesses where a cause of the abscess had either been found, as was the case in just 35 patients, or not found.
Their results showed that the 52 patients where no cause had been found were about three times as likely to have oral bacteria present in their samples.
Those patients also carried significantly higher counts of Streptococcus anginosus, a bacteria that can lead to pharyngitis, bacteremia, and infections in internal organs such as the brain, lung, and liver. This bacteria is often found in dental abscesses.
Writing in the study, researchers say the findings suggest that the oral cavity could be considered a source of infection in cases of brain abscess where no clear cause has been identified.
