Low Back Pain: Would it be Psoas Abscess?

AYC Siu, KL Law, CB Lo, CH Chung
2002 Hong Kong Journal of Emergency Medicine  
Psoas abscess is an uncommon clinical entity. It can be a primary infection with no obvious source of infection or a secondary infection from other sites, e.g. gastrointestinal tract or spinal pathology. The triads of presentation: fever, loin pain and limitation of hip movement may not be found in all patients. The correct diagnosis can be made with a vigilant clinical examination and appropriate investigation, for example ultrasonography. We present two cases of psoas abscess. One was a
more » ... y case and the other was secondary to carcinoma of caecum. Both of them presented with recent onset of back pain. Emergency physicians consider psoas abscess as one of the differential diagnosis for patient complaining of low back pain. (Hong Kong j.emerg.med. 2002;9:213-216)
doi:10.1177/102490790200900406 fatcat:wwdhf44uxnct5npdnsczdbutgu