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Subdural empyema differential diagnosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: João André Alves Silva, M.D. [2]; Anthony Gallo, B.S. [3]

Overview

Subdural empyema must be differentiated from other diseases that cause fever, headache, focal neurological signs, seizures, and altered mental status, such as subdural hematoma, brain abscess, and bacterial meningitis. These conditions may be distinguished from subdural empyema by their clinical findings, brain imaging findings, and laboratory studies.

Differential Diagnosis

Subdural empyema must be differentiated from other diseases that cause fever, headache, focal neurological signs, seizures, and altered mental status, including:[1][2]

Disease Findings
Subdural hematoma Presents with an accumulation of blood in the subdural space, which frequently surges in the presence of trauma; it may cause an increase of intracranial pressure causing compression and damage to the brain. The acute form of this condition is considered a medical emergency.
Brain abscess Presents with an abscess in the brain caused by the inflammation and accumulation of infected material from local or remote infectious areas of the body; the infectious agent may also be introduced as a result of head trauma or neurological procedures.
Bacterial meningitis Presents with inflammation of the meninges, which may develop in the setting of an infection, physical injury, cancer, or certain drugs; it may have an indolent evolution, resolving on its own, or may present as an rapidly evolving inflammation, causing neurologic damage and possible mortality.
Viral encephalitis Presents with acute inflammation of the brain, caused by a viral infection; it may complicate into severe brain damage as the inflamed brain pushes against the skull, potentially leading to mortality.
Epidural abscess Presents with an abscess in the epidural space, between the vertebrae and the dura mater of the spinal canal; it may complicate into spinal cord dysfunction, leading to paralysis.
Cerebral thrombophlebitis Presents with inflammation of a cerebral vein, related to a blood clot or thrombus; it can cause chronic pain, leg swelling, and pulmonary embolism.
Superior sagittal sinus thrombosis Presents with thrombosis affecting the dural venous sinuses, which drain blood from the brain; it can cause headaches, fever, and increased intracranial pressure.
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis Presents with scattered foci of demyelination and perivenular inflammation; it can cause focal neurological signs and decreased ability to focus.



Diseases Diagnostic tests Physical Examination Symptoms Past medical history Other Findings
Na+, K+, Ca2+ CT /MRI CSF Findings Gold standard test Neck stiffness Motor or Sensory deficit Papilledema Bulging fontanelle Cranial nerves Headache Fever Altered mental status
Brain tumour[3][4] ✔ Cancer cells[5] MRI ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Cachexia, gradual progression of symptoms
Delirium tremens ✔ Clinical diagnosis ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Alcohol intake, sudden witdrawl or reduction in consumption Tachycardia, diaphoresis, hypertension, tremors, mydriasis, positional nystagmus,
Subarachnoid hemorrhage[6] ✔ Xanthochromia[7] CT scan without contrast[8][9] ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Trauma/fall Confusion, dizziness, nausea, vomiting
Stroke ✔ Normal CT scan without contrast ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ TIAs, hypertension, diabetes mellitus Speech difficulty, gait abnormality
Neurosyphilis[10][11] ✔ ↑ Leukocytes and protein CSF VDRL-specifc

CSF FTA-Ab -sensitive[12]

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Unprotected sexual intercourse, STIs Blindness, confusion, depression,

Abnormal gait

Viral encephalitis ✔ Increased RBCS or xanthochromia, mononuclear lymphocytosis, high protein content, normal glucose Clinical assesment ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Tick bite/mosquito bite/ viral prodome for several days Extreme lethargy, rash hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, behavioural changes
Herpes simplex encephalitis ✔ Clinical assesment ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ History of hypertension Delirium, cortical blindness, cerebral edema, seizure
Wernicke’s encephalopathy Normal ✔ ✔ ✔ History of alcohal abuse Ophthalmoplegia, confusion
CNS abscess ✔ ↑ leukocytes >100,000/ul, ↓ glucose and ↑ protien, ↑ red blood cells, lactic acid >500mg Contrast enhanced MRI is more sensitive and specific,

Histopathological examination of brain tissue

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ History of drug abuse, endocarditis, ↓ immune status High grade fever, fatigue,nausea, vomiting
Drug toxicity ✔ ✔ Lithium, Sedatives, phenytoin, carbamazepine
Conversion disorder Diagnosis of exclusion ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Tremors, blindness, difficulty swallowing
Electrolyte disturbance ↓ or ↑ Depends on the cause ✔ ✔ Confusion, seizures
Febrile convulsion Not performed in first simple febrile seizures Clinical diagnosis and EEG ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Family history of febrile seizures, viral illness or gastroenteritis Age > 1 month,
Subdural empyema ✔ Clinical assesment and MRI ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ History of relapses and remissions Blurry vision, urinary incontinence, fatigue
Hypoglycemia ↓ or ↑ Serum blood glucose

HbA1c

✔ ✔ ✔ History of diabetes Palpitations, sweating, dizziness, low serum, glucose

References

  1. ↑ Agrawal, Amit; Timothy, Jake; Pandit, Lekha; Shetty, Lathika; Shetty, J.P. (2007). “A Review of Subdural Empyema and Its Management”. Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice. 15 (3): 149–153. doi:10.1097/01.idc.0000269905.67284.c7. ISSN 1056-9103.
  2. ↑ Longo, Dan L. (Dan Louis) (2012). Harrison’s principles of internal medici. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-174889-6.
  3. ↑ Soffer D (1976) Brain tumors simulating purulent meningitis. Eur Neurol 14 (3):192-7. PMID: 1278192
  4. ↑ Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named pmid3883130
  5. ↑ Weston CL, Glantz MJ, Connor JR (2011). “Detection of cancer cells in the cerebrospinal fluid: current methods and future directions”. Fluids Barriers CNS. 8 (1): 14. doi:10.1186/2045-8118-8-14. PMC 3059292. PMID 21371327.
  6. ↑ Yeh ST, Lee WJ, Lin HJ, Chen CY, Te AL, Lin HJ (2003) Nonaneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage secondary to tuberculous meningitis: report of two cases. J Emerg Med 25 (3):265-70. PMID: 14585453
  7. ↑ Lee MC, Heaney LM, Jacobson RL, Klassen AC (1975). “Cerebrospinal fluid in cerebral hemorrhage and infarction”. Stroke. 6 (6): 638–41. PMID 1198628.
  8. ↑ Birenbaum D, Bancroft LW, Felsberg GJ (2011). “Imaging in acute stroke”. West J Emerg Med. 12 (1): 67–76. PMC 3088377. PMID 21694755.
  9. ↑ DeLaPaz RL, Wippold FJ, Cornelius RS, Amin-Hanjani S, Angtuaco EJ, Broderick DF; et al. (2011). “ACR Appropriateness Criteria® on cerebrovascular disease”. J Am Coll Radiol. 8 (8): 532–8. doi:10.1016/j.jacr.2011.05.010. PMID 21807345.
  10. ↑ Liu LL, Zheng WH, Tong ML, Liu GL, Zhang HL, Fu ZG; et al. (2012). “Ischemic stroke as a primary symptom of neurosyphilis among HIV-negative emergency patients”. J Neurol Sci. 317 (1–2): 35–9. doi:10.1016/j.jns.2012.03.003. PMID 22482824.
  11. ↑ Berger JR, Dean D (2014). “Neurosyphilis”. Handb Clin Neurol. 121: 1461–72. doi:10.1016/B978-0-7020-4088-7.00098-5. PMID 24365430.
  12. ↑ Ho EL, Marra CM (2012). “Treponemal tests for neurosyphilis–less accurate than what we thought?”. Sex Transm Dis. 39 (4): 298–9. doi:10.1097/OLQ.0b013e31824ee574. PMC 3746559. PMID 22421697.


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