European society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of brain abscess in children and adults

Scope: These European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases guidelines are intended for clinicians involved in diagnosis and treatment of brain abscess in children and adults.Methods: Key questions were developed, and a systematic review was carried out of all studies published since 1 January 1996, using the search terms 'brain abscess' OR 'cerebral abscess' as Mesh terms or text in electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane registry.The search was updated on 29 September 2022.Exclusion criteria were a sample size <10 patients or publication in non-English language.Extracted data was summarized as narrative reviews and tables.Meta-analysis was carried out using a random effects model and heterogeneity was examined by I 2 tests as well as funnel and Galbraith plots.Risk of bias was assessed using Risk Of Bias in Non-randomised Studies -of Interventions (ROBINS-I) (observational studies) and Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2) (diagnostic studies).The Grading of