UNASSIGNED: An intramuscular abscess of the subscapularis is a rare phenomenon but important pathology for surgeons to be aware of because clinical deterioration can be rapid and diagnosis difficult. The presentation often mimics other common shoulder pathologies with subacute shoulder pain and stiffness. Early diagnosis, antibiotics and surgical drainage are critical to reduce the spread and joint destruction.
UNASSIGNED: A search of PubMed and Google Scholar databases identified cases of subscapular intramuscular abscess. Data collected about each case included patient demographics, presentation, pathology, surgical treatment and outcome. The authors report one additional subscapular abscess case.
UNASSIGNED: Data from 17 cases of subscapular abscess were found, 16 in the literature and one case described by the authors. Sixteen of 17 cases (94.1%) presented with shoulder pain and reduced range of motion worsening over a mean of 6.7 days prior to presentation. Surgical approaches utilised included a posterior inferomedial approach, deltoid-pectoral approach and one posterior inferolateral approach.
UNASSIGNED: From the limited data available regarding subscapular intramuscular abscess, the authors make the following recommendations: (1) Empirical antibiotics covering Staphylococcus aureus +/- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, (2) drainage is indicated in all cases; and (3) tendon-sparing approaches can access an abscess in most locations within the subscapular space.

BACKGROUND: Pyomyositis is an unusual bacterial infection but potential severe in children. Staphylococcus Aureus is the main caused of this disease (70-90%), following by Streptococcus Pyogenes (4-16%). Streptococcus Pneumoniae rarely caused invasive muscular infections. We describe a case of pyomyositis caused by Streptococcus Pneumonia in an adolescent 12-year-old female.
METHODS: I.L. referred to our hospital for high fever associated with right hip and abdominal pain. The blood exams showed increase of leukocytes with prevalence of neutrophils with high level of inflammatory markers (CRP 46,17 mg/dl; Procalcitonin 25,8 ng/ml). The abdomen ultrasonography was unremarkable. The CT and MRI of the abdomen and right hip revealed pyomyositis of the iliopsoas, piriformis and internal shutter associated with collection of pus between the muscular planes (Fig. 1). The patient was admitted to our paediatric care unit, and she was initially treatment with intravenous Ceftriaxone (100 mg/kg/day) and Vancomycin (60 mg/kg/day). On day 2, a pansensitive Streptococcus Pneumoniae was isolated from the blood culture, and the antibiotic treatment was changed to only IV Ceftriaxone. She was successively treated with IV Ceftriaxone for 3 weeks, then continued with oral Amoxicillin for a total of 6 weeks of therapy. The follow up showed a complete resolution of the pyomyositis and psoas abscess after 2 months.
CONCLUSIONS: Pyomyositis associate with abscess is a rare and very dangerous disease in children. The clinical presentation can mimic symptoms of other pathologies like osteomyelitis or septic arthritis, so many times is hard to identify. The main risk factors include story of recent trauma and immunodeficiency, not present in our case report. The therapy involves the antibiotics and, if possible, abscess drainage. In literature there is much discussion about duration of antibiotic therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the manifestations and treatment of extraocular muscle (EOM) bacterial pyomyositis.
METHODS: A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines and a case report.
METHODS: PubMed and MEDLINE databases were searched for case reports and case series of EOM pyomyositis using the term \"extraocular muscle\" combined \"pyomyositis\" and \"abscess\". Patients were included as bacterial pyomyositis of the EOMs when there was a response to antibiotics alone or if a biopsy was consistent with the diagnosis. Patients were excluded when pyomyositis did not involve the EOMs or when diagnostic tests or treatment were not in keeping with the diagnosis of bacterial pyomyositis. An additional patient with bacterial myositis of the EOMs, treated locally, was added to the cases identified in the systematic review. Cases were grouped for analysis.
RESULTS: There are 15 published cases of EOM bacterial pyomyositis including the one reported in this paper. Bacterial pyomyositis of the EOMs typically affects young males and is caused by Staphylococcus species. Most patients present with ophthalmoplegia (12/15; 80%), periocular edema (11/15; 73.3%), decreased vision (9/15; 60%) and proptosis (7/15; 46.7%). Treatment involves antibiotics alone or in combination with surgical drainage.
CONCLUSIONS: Bacterial pyomyositis of the EOM presents with the same signs as orbital cellulitis. Radiographic imaging identifies a hypodense lesion with peripheral ring enhancement within the EOM. An approach to cystoid lesions of the EOMs is helpful in reaching the diagnosis. Cases can be resolved with antibiotics aimed at treating Staphylococcus, and surgical drainage may be required.

BACKGROUND: An infected popliteal pseudoaneurysm has never been described in the pediatric population. Physicians need to be aware of its presentation and management, in order to diagnose and treat this medical condition adequately.
METHODS: We describe the case of a 14-year-old boy who developed myositis and cellulitis centered at the popliteal fossa after playing basketball. A treatment of intravenous cefazolin was started. 5 days later, he experienced a knee pain flare-up, which turned out to be a popliteal pyomyositis with a pseudoaneurysm of the popliteal artery. A saphenous vein graft bypass of the popliteal artery and an excision of the popliteal pseudoaneurysm were performed. Intravenous cefazolin was continued for 6 weeks and prophylactic acetylsalicylic acid for 6 months.
CONCLUSIONS: This case highlighted the importance of repeating radiologic investigations if a patient suffering from soft tissue infection has persistent pain after several days of appropriate antibiotics. A popliteal pseudoaneurysm can be diagnosed with ultrasound imaging and treated with a popliteal-popliteal bypass. Our patient needed a catheter-guided dilation of the anastomosis at the vein graft 6 months post-surgery, and then evolved favorably and went back to playing basketball 6 months post-dilation.

Pyomyositis has recently been recognized as a primary infection of the large skeletal muscles, and it is often accompanied by single or multiple intramuscular abscess formation. Immunocompromised patients, including those with diabetes mellitus, human immunodeficiency virus infection, and cancer, as well as those undergoing chemotherapy, are at a greater risk of developing pyomyositis. A 78-year-old Japanese man with recurrent gastric cancer being treated with chemotherapy presented with sudden-onset pain in his left lower extremity while undergoing a second-line regimen with irinotecan. T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an abnormally high-intensity signal in the left internal and external obturator muscles, a finding consistent with pyomyositis. Following intensive antibiotic treatment, the patient recovered completely and was able to resume chemotherapy with irinotecan. For a patient who developed pyomyositis during chemotherapy for gastric cancer, early diagnosis using MRI followed by administration of timely intensive antibiotic therapy resulted in complete recovery.

BACKGROUND: Tropical pyomyositis has had a recent increase in the United States, Europe, and other nontropical areas. The purpose of this study was to provide an accurate description of the demographics, presenting features, sites of involvement, microbiology, imaging modalities, medical and surgical management, complications, and predictors of clinical course.
METHODS: We searched PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science Collection, Scopus, and Embase databases yielding 156 studies. Of these, 23 articles were selected for statistical analysis.
RESULTS: The average age at presentation was 8.4±1.9 years with males more commonly affected. Fever, painful limp, and localized pain were the most common presenting symptoms. Pelvis, lower extremity, trunk and spine, in descending order, were the most commonly affected locations. Iliopsoas, obturator musculature, and gluteus musculature were the most commonly affected muscle groups. The mean time to diagnosis was 6.6±3.05 days. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common offending organism. The mean length of hospital stay was 12.0±4.6 days. Medical management alone was successful in 40% of cases (143/361) with an average duration of 9.5±4.0 and 22.7±7.2 days of intravenous and oral antibiotics, respectively. Surgical management consisted of open drainage in 91.3% (199/218) or percutaneous drainage in 8.7% (19/218) of cases. Painful limp, fever, and larger values of white cell count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were associated with an increased need for surgery. Obturator and calf muscle involvement were strongly associated with multifocal involvement. There were 42 complications in 41 patients (11.3%). Methicillin-resistant S. aureus was associated with an increased risk of complications. The most common complications were osteomyelitis, septicemia, and septic arthritis.
CONCLUSIONS: Primary pyomyositis should be considered in cases suggesting pediatric infection. Magnetic resonance imaging is the most commonly used imaging modality; however, ultrasound is useful given its accessibility and low cost. Medical management alone can be successful, but surgical treatment is often needed. The prognosis is favorable. Early diagnosis, appropriate medical management, and potential surgical drainage are required for effective treatment.
METHODS: Level IV-systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Pyomyositis, an acute bacterial infection of skeletal muscle usually resulting in abscess formation, is well recognised in tropical regions where it can account for up to 4% of adult surgical admissions. It is increasingly being reported from high-income temperate countries. Pyomyositis occurs across all ages and in both sexes. Mortality ranges from 1% to 23%. Many risk factors have been suggested. We aimed to identify factors associated with pyomyositis.
METHODS: We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis, using PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and the Cochran Library and hand-searching published papers. The random-effects model meta-analysis was used to calculate pooled estimated odd ratios with the corresponding 95% confidence interval.
RESULTS: All studies in the systematic review (n = 25) and the meta-analysis (n = 12) were hospital-based. Seven only included children. Relatively few studies have been published in the last decade, the majority of which are from high-income temperate settings. Staphylococcus aureus was the main organism isolated. Males under the age of 20 predominated, and mortality of up to 20% was reported. Factors associated with pyomyositis were HIV infection (OR = 4.82; 95% CI: 1.67-13.92) and fulfilling an AIDS surveillance definition (OR = 6.08; 95% CI: 2.79-13.23).
CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis indicated significant associations between pyomyositis infection and HIV/AIDS. Major gaps in our understanding of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and outcome remain, highlighting the need for further research and more systematic studies. Pyomyositis merits consideration as a neglected tropical disease.

We report the case of an 11-year-old girl with a recent diagnosis of common B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia who presented with Pseudomonas aeruginosa pyomyositis of the left lower limb during severe neutropenia associated with the induction phase of chemotherapy.
Presenting signs included fever, leg pain, and refusal to walk. Popliteal knee ultrasonography was unremarkable, whereas magnetic resonance imaging showed 2 intramuscular fluid collections requiring surgically drainage.
A review of medical literature showed that pyomyositis is an infrequent complication in children with hematological malignancies, and most cases are due to Staphylococcus aureus, whereas Pseudomonas aeruginosa appears to be rarely involved.

UNASSIGNED: Histoplasmosis is an endemic mycosis caused by Histoplasma Capsulatum, a thermally dimorphic fungus with mycelial and yeast forms. Muscle involvement is infrequent in Histoplasmosis.
UNASSIGNED: A 49-year-old lady presented with generalized myalgia and arthritis of two-year duration, which had responded partly to glucocorticoids. The lady reported to us two years into the illness with ulcerative eyelid lesions, worsening myalgia, and painful skin nodules. Eventually, it turned out that anti-synthetase syndrome was the primary diagnosis with Histoplasma infection in the muscles, subcutaneous tissue, and eye. We herewith present the course of her illness and a review of Histoplasmosis of the muscle in literature.
UNASSIGNED: The differential diagnosis of painful muscle weakness is broad. Histoplasma capsulatum infection should be considered in immunosuppressed myositis patient presenting with orbital ulcers, skin nodules and worsening muscle weakness.

BACKGROUND: Primary chest wall abscess is considered a rare disease.
METHODS: A 60-year-old man presented with swelling of the pectoral muscle in the left side of his chest. Needle aspiration revealed pus. Computed tomography discovered fluid build-up anterior to the left pectoralis major muscle extending up to the left shoulder. There were multiple air pockets within the pectoralis major muscle and the surrounding fat stranding. Following antibiotic administration, we performed surgical debridement and irrigated the affected region. During surgery, the pectoralis major muscle was partially damaged; necrotic tissue was found only within the muscle. We diagnosed this condition as a pectoralis muscle abscess that most likely developed spontaneously from hematogenous spread. His postoperative course was uneventful, and there was no recurrence during a 3-month follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: Pyomyositis is an acute infection of the skeletal muscle. Although it is more commonly found in tropical climates, it is also diagnosed in temperate climates in patients who are immunocompromised. Pyomyositis can be divided into three stages. Stage 1, which is considered the invasive stage, presents with low-grade fever, pain, local myalgia, and local edema but no pus collection. Stage 2, which is the purulent stage, presents with fever, severe muscle pain and tenderness, moderate edema, and abscesses. Stage 3 is diagnosed when sepsis develops secondary to S. aureus bacteremia.
CONCLUSIONS: In immunocompromised patients, the detection of pyomyositis at the early stage is challenging; however, most patients present at stage 2 or 3, which can increase the risk of complications.