Cerebellar staphylococcal abscess accompanied with high alfa-fetoprotein in a young infant

Background: Brain abscess in young infants is extremely rare and usually associated with a previous history of bacterial meningitis or septicemia.

Case presentation: Here we report a cerebellar abscess mimicking brain tumor with atypical clinical and paraclinical presentations. A two-month old previously well-baby boy was referred to us with persistent vomiting, strabismus and developmental regression. The brain imaging showed a right cerebellar mass with multiple small cysts inside the lesion. Elevated serum alfa-fetoprotein associated with cystic and solid posterior fossa mass proposed the preoperative diagnosis of teratoma but tumor cells were not found inside the pathology specimen. The culture of the sample was positive for staphylococcus aureus.

Conclusion: The interest of this case lies in the atypical features of clinical and radiological evaluations in a young infant associated with an abnormal alfa-fetoprotein level of serum.