A CASE REPORT OF GIANT ILIOPSOAS ABSCESS CAUSING SUBCUTANEOUS ABSCESS

Abstract

An 87-year-old female was admitted to the hospital because of a mass with a pain on the left lumbar. On admission, the mass was measuring 15×10cm. The abdominal ultrasound and enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed a large low density area only around this in the left retroperitoneum and under the subcutaneous space. From these results, the patient was diagnosed as having the primary iliopsoas abscess and was operated on. With percutaneous drainage 600ml of non-smelling pus was sprang from the abscess. Any bacteria were not isolated in the pus. Recently, cases of iliopsoas abscess have been increasingly reported with the development of imaging methods. In 54 cases of iliopsoas abscess seen in the Japanese literature in a recent one decade, no case of giant iliopsoas abscess with subcutaneous abscess was included and our case is rare. It is etiologically thought that the onset of the disease in this case might stem from her advanced age, poor nutrition and its resultant proneness to infection. The usefullness of CT in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of iliopsoas abscess is emphasized.