Stenotrophomonas maltophilia brain abscesses after implantation of motor cortex stimulator

Abstract

We describe the first case of a patient with brain abscesses caused by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia as a complication after motor cortex stimulator implantation. Brain abscesses pose a challenge in diagnosis and treatment, because microbiological diagnosis is not always achieved, antibiotic drugs may not penetrate well into the CNS and some bacteria have resistances to typical empirical antibiotic drugs. In this case diagnosis was only made after removal of the stimulator and a long term treatment with antibiotic drugs was necessary. As neurostimulation devices become more common, formerly rare bacteria may become a more common complication. Bacteria with biofilm properties and a problematic resistance spectrum like Stenotrophomonas maltophilia should be included in the differential diagnosis, because they will not respond to the typical empirical treatment.

Keywords: Brain abscess; Neurostimulation; Pacemaker; Status epilepticus; Stenotrophomonas maltophilia.