Pyomyositis Developed during Systemic Steroid Therapy for Cutaneous Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

Pyomyositis is an acute, suppurative bacterial infection of striated muscle. It occurs primarily, and not from contiguous infection. It is considered rare in temperate climates. There has been no report of pyomyositis in the Korean dermatologic literature to date. We report a case of pyomyositis which developed in a 53-year-old male. The patient was admitted for the treatment of cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis on his entire body. He was treated with oral corticosteroids for approximately three weeks. The skin condition did show improvement; however, the patient developed a persistent fever and a newly-found mass on the right upper back. The mass was diagnosed as an abscess, replacing the striated muscles of the back by sono-guided needle aspiration. After surgical intervention and IV antibiotic treatment, the symptoms and mass on the back disappeared. We speculate that the underlying skin condition and long-term use of oral corticosteroids predisposed the patient to pyomyositis.