Antibiotics for brain abscesses in people with cyanotic congenital heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Brain abscess is a focal, intracerebral infection that begins as a localized area of brain infection and develops into a collection of pus surrounded by a well-vascularized capsule. People with cyanotic congenital heart disease are at risk of developing brain abscess.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of antibiotic regimens for treating brain abscess in people with cyanotic congenital heart disease.

SEARCH METHODS: We updated the searches of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) on The Cochrane Library Issue 12 of 12, December 2012, MEDLINE Ovid (1946 to December Week 4 2012), EMBASE Ovid (1980 to 2013 Week 01) and LILACS (1980 to 9 January 2013) on 9 January 2013. No language or publication restrictions were applied.

SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials that reported clinically meaningful outcomes and presented results on an intention to treat basis, irrespective of blinding, publication status, or language.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data were to be extracted, unblinded, by the two reviewers independently.

MAIN RESULTS: No studies meeting the inclusion criteria were identified.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There are no randomized controlled trials about the effectiveness of antibiotic regimens for treating people with cyanotic congenital heart disease who developed a brain abscess. Currently, the antibiotic regimens used are based on previous retrospective studies and clinical experience. There is a need for a well designed multicentre randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of different antibiotic regimens.