Neonatal adrenal abscess revisited: the importance of raised inflammatory markers.

Adrenal abscesses rarely occur in neonates and usually present with non-specific signs and symptoms. Prompt diagnosis requires an index of suspicion. We describe right-sided adrenal haemorrhage and abscess formation in a newborn with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy following maternal post-partum haemorrhage and sepsis with Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis. Percutaneous drainage of the abscess identified an E. coli isolate identical to that in the mother plus Candida albicans.