Frontal Lobe Thermal Injury Mimicking Cerebritis on Imaging

Abstract We present a case of a severe thermal injury leading to vasogenic edema that appears indistinguishable on CT scan from infectious cerebritis. Despite extensive damage seen on imaging, the patient did not exhibit neurological deficits expected for the injured brain region throughout the entire hospital stay. Long-term antibiotic therapy ultimately ruled out infection as the cause of extensive vasogenic edema on imaging, making thermal injury the etiology of exclusion. This case emphasizes the impact that severe burns can have on the central nervous system.