Zygomatic abscess with temporal myositis - a rare extracranial complication of acute otitis media

Acute mastoiditis is the most common complication of acute otitis media (AOM) and its early recognition and management still poses a challenge due to potentially serious consequences. The incidences of extracranial and intracranial suppurative complications of AOM in children have decreased significantly, yet they remain a serious clinical problem, especially when caused by bacteria resistant to antibiotics. The authors presented a case of rare AOM complication - zygomatic abscess with temporal myositis. A 6-year-old boy was admitted to the ENT Department with 4 weeks of ear pain, treated for AOM with cefuroxime axetyl and amoxicilline, with acute mastoiditis and subsequent abscess formation in zygomatic and preauricular region. The inflammatory process spread through anterior air cells to the zygomatic cells leading to a fistula formation in the zygomatic bone and breakthrough into the temporal muscle. The surgical procedures applied were: myringotomy with drainage, cortical mastoidectomy and revision of zygomatic area and treatment with antibiotics (ceftriaxon). Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus viridans were found in the culture of middle ear and mastoid effusion. After half a year of follow-up the child had a normal hearing. Severe complications of AOM are rare today. An early diagnosis in order to promote adequate management and prevent inherently suppurative complications is essential.

[Primary obturator pyomyositis]

BACKGROUND

The main objective of our work was to draw attention to the possible occurrence of a serious and life-threatening illness, primary pyomyositis of the obturator muscles in countries with a mild climate, and to establish basic diagnostic criteria for the illness, including differential diagnostics, and to propose a treatment method.

METHODS

The authors describe two cases (a boy of 11 and a woman aged 47 years) with the occurrence of primary pyomyositis of the obturator muscles in the Czech Republic and they focus on the most important clinical symptoms and imaging methods necessary for the establishment of the diagnosis.

RESULTS

Repeated clinical examinations are important for the establishment of the diagnosis, particularly the presence of the symptom triad (pain in the hip joint, limping, febrile state), positive inflammatory markers and, first and foremost, the demonstration of pyomyositis on CT or MR. Differential diagnosis must also consider inflammatory diseases of the locomotor system (coxitis, sacroiliitis, osteomyelitis), of the digestive tract (Crohn's disease, a tumour, an obturator hernia) and of the urogenital system (gonorrhoea).

CONCLUSION

The therapy of pyomyositis must be initiated in time by bed rest and administration of antibiotics and, if an abscess develops, surgical intervention is unconditionally necessary, consisting either in percutaneous abscess puncture or incision, perfusion, and application of antibiotics. The failure to diagnose an abscess of the obturator muscles and late therapy can result in serious complications, septic shock and death.

[Certain aspects of the present-day diagnosis and treatment of iliopsoitis]

MR-tomography is known to be a valuable method of investigation. It allows to get a picture of thin layers of the human body in any section. In addition, it facilitates the diagnosis of inflammatory alterations to the muscles of the retroperitoneal space before the development of purulent phases of inflammation. The difficulties of the diagnosis of pyo-inflammatory diseases are leveled due to practical possibility of MRT to detect the inflammation focus.

Repair of Mycotic Coronary Aneurysm without Cardiopulmonary Bypass: Case Report

Mycotic aneurysms of the coronary arteries are extremely rare, with 15 cases reported. We report the successful treatment of a mycotic aneurysm of the left anterior descending coronary artery by coronary artery bypass grafting with aneurysm ligation and resection without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass.

Necrotizing soft tissue infection from decubitus ulcer after spinal cord injury

STUDY DESIGN

A case of necrotizing soft tissue infection in a patient with spinal cord injury with extension of infection into the spinal canal and spinal cord is presented.

OBJECTIVE

To review the history, risk factors, pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and morbidity and mortality regarding necrotizing soft tissue infection as they relate to spinal cord injury.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Necrotizing soft tissue infection related to decubitus ulcers is rare. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this disease related to a sacral decubitus ulcer with extension of the necrotizing infection into the spinal canal.

METHODS

The clinical, radiographic, and pathologic features associated with necrotizing soft tissue infection are presented. The patient presented with a late-stage necrotizing soft tissue infection requiring extensive de-bridement of necrotic tissue, which the patient underwent on admission.

RESULTS

The patent died of refractory septic shock and multiple-organ failure after surgery.

CONCLUSION

Necrotizing soft tissue infections from decubitus ulcers are rare and unpredictable, and ultimately have a progressively aggressive course. The case reported herein is the first report of necrotizing soft tissue infection from a decubitus ulcer in a patient with spinal cord injury with extension into the spinal canal and spinal cord.

Focal myositis. Description of a case and review of the literature

The authors describe a rare form of pseudotumor of the muscle tissue of an inflammatory nature with an unknown etiology that occurred in a boy aged 13 years, characterized by the occurrence of rapidly-developing swelling, no pain symptoms, with degeneration of the myofibers, evident eosinophilia and lymphomonoplasmacellular infiltrate. Surgical excision of the lesion is the treatment of choice.

Acute limb ischemia secondary to myositis-induced compartment syndrome in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection

Myositis, while uncommon, develops more frequently in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. We report a case of acute lower leg ischemia caused by myositis in such a patient. Urgent four-compartment fasciotomy of the lower leg was performed, which decompressed the compartmental hypertension and reversed the arterial ischemia. This case underscores the importance of recognizing compartment syndrome as a cause of acute limb ischemia.

Pathophysiology and treatment of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome

We have recently encountered three cases of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, each of which had a different cause. All the patients had inflammation of soft tissue in the lower extremities, and developed shock and multiple organ failure immediately after the clinical visit. The inflammation of soft tissue was necrotising fasciitis in one case, myositis in one case, and phlegmon in one. In the first case the debridement was incomplete, which resulted in an extensive ulceration. Wary of repeating this experience, we made an early diagnosis and did a thorough debridement in the second case. The patient was ultimately discharged without complications. It is rare that a patient with extensive myositis survives without amputation of the extremity. The third patient responded well to early treatment with antibiotics.

[Necrotising fasciitis and myositis as serious complications after liposuction]

Three days after liposuction of the lower abdomen, a 41-year-old woman was admitted for toxic shock-like syndrome with necrotising fasciitis and myositis, caused by Lancefield-group-A beta-haemolytic streptococci. The patient was treated by radical debridement of the skin, subcutis, fasciae and part of the pectoral muscle, plus antibiotics. Postoperatively she required artificial respiration for respiratory insufficiency. One week after the operation the wound was covered by transplantation of autologous skin. The patient survived, but was seriously disfigured. Necrotising fasciitis is a progressive soft-tissue infection, characterised by widespread necrosis of the superficial and deep fascia, often associated with severe systemic toxic reactions. Unless quickly recognised and aggressively treated, the course is often fatal. Due to the absence of cutaneous findings in the early stages, diagnosis is difficult. Important diagnostic aids are routine laboratory tests, contrast-MRI and a combination of the finger test and frozen-section biopsy. Treatment consists of early radical debridement, broad-spectrum antibiotics and supportive care. In a later stage, soft-tissue reconstruction with autografts or artificial skin grafts and skin transposition can be performed.

[Focal myositis--an indication for surgery? A case report]

This case report describes focal myositis, a rare inflammatory pseudotumorous disease previously not mentioned in the surgical literature. Most often a single muscle of the upper or lower extremity is affected. Usually the diagnostic process and treatment require a long time. We present a useful diagnostic cascade and a surgical therapy, which allows the histological differentiation between malignant and inflammatory disease. Even after partial resection of the tumor, the prognosis of focal myositis is excellent.

Focal myositis of the thigh: unusual MR pattern

Focal myositis is a commonly referenced, infrequently reported and poorly documented benign inflammatory pseudotumor which may be misdiagnosed clinically as a malignant tumor. We report the clinicopathologic features and magnetic resonance imaging findings in a case of focal myositis in the thigh of a 55-year-old woman. A different radiologic presentation of this disorder is described. The gross appearance of the lesion, previously undescribed, appears to be rather specific for such a pseudoneoplastic disorder, and correlates very well with the magnetic resonance imaging features.

[Myositis proliferans. Differential cervical space-occupying lesion diagnosis]

Myositis proliferans is a rare and benign pseudosarcomatous tumour of soft tissue. In most cases it is found in the region of the shoulder and arm and its occurrence in the region of the neck is described in literature in 16 cases in all. For the ear, nose and throat specialist it is an important differential diagnosis in contrast to malignant tumours. In this report we present the cases of two patients, who were suffering from painful cervical swelling that had been increasing for some days. The problems inherent in the diagnosis of this illness are discussed. Due to its rapid growth the tumour is generally falsely diagnosed and radically removed. Therefore, in appropriate case history, this possibility should be considered and excluded in order to prevent the patient from unnecessary radical operation. In addition to clinical symptoms, imaging and trial excision are suitable.

Proliferative myositis: a rare pseudosarcoma of the chest wall

Proliferative myositis is a rare, inflammatory tumor that is often misdiagnosed as sarcoma. The clinical course of proliferative myositis is benign, and local recurrence after simple excision is uncommon. Typically, the lesion presents in the extremities or the head and neck. We present an unusual case of proliferative myositis with involvement of the anterior chest wall.

Streptococcus pyogenes pyomyositis

Group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus pyomyositis continues to be an uncommon disease. We present a case of a 7-year-old boy with an M protein type 1, streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin A and B, Streptococcus pyogenes pyomyositis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome.

Pyomyositis in adults: a 12 year review

From January 1988 to December 1999, 43 adults with pyomyositis were managed at Ahmadu Bello UniversityTeaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria. Staphylococcus aureuswas the most commonly cultured organism (92.5%). All the 41 patients responded well to incision and adequate drainage, antibiotics and partial thickness skin grafting in 10 patients (23.2%).Two patients (4.65%) died from septicaemia, while being resuscitated.

Pyomyositis of the leg with early neurologic compromise

Pyomyositis, although uncommon, is being reported with greater frequency in temperate climates. The presentation is similar to a number of infectious processes, and when associated with a traumatic event, the clinical picture may be confused with that of a musculoskeletal injury. This, coupled with an unfamiliarity of the disease, may result in a delay in diagnosis. Early antibiotic therapy may obviate surgery. Progression to the suppurative stage requires surgical drainage along with antibiotics. CT guided drainage may be accomplished in certain cases. In immunocompromised patients, progression to the septicemic stage is associated with high morbidity and mortality.

[Streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome with necrotizing myositis]

Streptococcal toxic shocklike syndrome is caused by group A streptococci and characterized by multiorgan failure and soft-tissue necrosis, often in young patients with a bland history and at most a minor trauma. Diagnosis is reached through the clinical presentation, imaging methods and positive bacterial verification. The course is fulminant and in the case of muscle involvement, mortality reaches 80-100%. Therapy consists of immediate fasciotomy and often of debridement of affected soft tissues with high-dose antibiotics in intensive care. Sometimes an unconfirmed diagnosis must be sufficient to operate. We report the case of a 29-year-old man without an exceptional history who was forced to undergo thigh amputation, multiple soft-tissue debridements, and after a total of 240 erythrocyte concentrates, finally hip joint enucleation.

Pyomyositis of the thigh due to Prevotella melaninogenica

Pyomyositis is an uncommon infection in temperate climates, however, it is being more frequently reported among patients with diabetes or malignancy, or those who are immunocompromised. It is predominantly caused by Staphylococcus aureus, and rarely by Bacteroides species. Pyomyositis due to Prevotella melaninogenica has not previously been reported. We describe an elderly patient with pyomyositis of the thigh due to P. melaninogenica which was successfully treated by surgical incision and drainage in combination with metronidazole therapy.

Pyomyositis in children: analysis of 31 cases

In a 10-year period, 31 children with 35 pyomyositis were managed in Zaria, northern Nigeria. Twenty-two (71%) were less than 10 years of age, with a peak incidence at between 5 and 9 years. The leg muscles, mainly the quadriceps, were most frequently involved (51.4%), followed by the trunk muscles (25.7%), predominantly those of the anterior abdominal wall. Arm and shoulder girdle muscles were less frequently affected (11.4% each). Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently cultured organism (75%) and was usually sensitive to cloxacillin and, to a lesser degree, to erythromycin and chloramphenicol. Incision and adequate drainage was usually very effective with recurrence at only one site. Antibiotics were used routinely. Involvement of the heart and lungs occurred in two children respectively, the former causing the only death. The average duration of hospital stay was 20 days.