A rare case of paediatric pontine glioblastoma presenting as a cerebellopontine angle otogenic abscess

We describe rare case of a 9-year old boy who presented with a two-week history of right ear discharge and mild fever. Contrast enhanced CT scan of the brain showed a lesion in the right cerebellopontine angle with mild enhancement mimicking early abscess formation. Involvement of the mastoid air cells pointing towards a radiological diagnosis of mastoiditis reinforced the diagnosis of an abscess. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was planned for the patient but his conscious level deteriorated and patient slipped into coma warranting immediate surgical intervention. Intraoperatively, about 90% of the tumour was removed and the appearance of the tumour resembled that of an acoustic schwannoma but histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). MRI done post operatively showed lesion in the pons confirming the diagnosis of an exophytic pontine glioblastoma multiforme.