Broken needles

Abstract

A 35-year-old male intravenous drug user was admitted for left groin swelling and fever. On examination, we found a football-sized abscess in his left groin and pitting oedema of the whole left lower limb. A radiograph showed many retained broken needles (figure). CT showed that some needles were in the rectus femoris, and some were pointing towards the skin surface. The patient had a deep vein thrombosis, his left femoral artery was patent and there was no pseudoaneurysm. Broken needles in intravenous drug users are not uncommon. The possibility of sustaining injuries from sharp protruding objects should be kept in mind when examining patients. A 35-year-old male intravenous drug user was admitted for left groin swelling and fever. On examination, we found a football-sized abscess in his left groin and pitting oedema of the whole left lower limb. A radiograph showed many retained broken needles (figure). CT showed that some needles were in the rectus femoris, and some were pointing towards the skin surface. The patient had a deep vein thrombosis, his left femoral artery was patent and there was no pseudoaneurysm. Broken needles in intravenous drug users are not uncommon. The possibility of sustaining injuries from sharp protruding objects should be kept in mind when examining patients.