A rare case report of psoas abscess in pregnancy in a tertiary centre

A psoas abscess in pregnancy is a relatively uncommon condition with nonspecific signs and symptoms. It may lead to serious complications if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Although spinal tuberculosis affects nearly half of skeletal tuberculosis patients, psoas abscess develops in only 5% of spinal tuberculosis cases. A clinical history and examination are used to make a diagnosis, which is then confirmed by microbiology and radiological findings. Here is an interesting case report on psoas abscess in pregnancy managed by pigtail catheter insertion and drainage.

COVID-19 Infection Manifesting with Lumbar Spondylodiscitis Complicating With Psoas Abscess without Pneumonia

Extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) are increasingly recognized. Secondary spinal infections are dangerous complications reported in a few cases in the literature. However, to our knowledge, there is no reported case of a severe spondylodiscitis (SD) complicated with a large psoas abscess in a COVID-19 patient. We would like to report a 43-year-old male patient living in central Anatolia and dealing with farming who presented to the hospital with a complaint of severe back pain. The patient who was given oral treatment with analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and myorelaxant agents was readmitted with increased complaints. His nasopharyngeal swab was positive for COVID-19 without pneumonia on chest computed tomography (CT). He spent the quarantine and treatment period at home but was admitted to our outpatient clinic with a wheelchair with increased complaints and right leg pain preventing daily activities. The control nasopharyngeal swab was negative for COVID-19 but further increase in C-reactive protein (CRP) (152,8 mg/L) and creatine kinase (CK) level (549 IU/L) were revealed. Lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed SD in the L3-L4 level along with right-sided prevertebral inflammatory soft tissue and a large right psoas muscle abscess. Pyogenic lumbar SD complicated with the right psoas abscess in the setting of COVID-19 was considered and antibacterial treatment was started following hospitalization. On the same day, percutaneous aspiration from the psoas abscess under CT guidance was performed and revealed no growth in the culture. After 3 weeks, follow-up MRI showed worsening of all the bone, soft tissue and disc findings. Myalgia is a common manifestation in viral infections, which was also demonstrated in COVID-19 patients, with possible increase in muscle enzymes. Secondary spinal infections and its soft-tissue complications should be considered in the management of COVID-19 patients with neuromuscular symptoms, and detailed neurological and neurosurgical evaluation should be performed in order to avoid progression and permanent damage.

Factors Associated with Surgical Treatment Outcome of Psoas Muscle Abscess

Background: Psoas abscess is a rare condition but one with potential for severe morbidity. Many factors may be implicated in the treatment outcome of the condition and efforts must be directed to identify, understand and control the factors for a better prognosis. Objective: To identify the factors associated with surgical treatment outcome of psoas muscle abscess. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted upon a sample of 58 patients (chosen via non-probability, consecutive sampling) scheduled for surgical treatment for psoas muscle abscess (aged 18 to 60 years) at department of General Surgery at Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad & Jamshoro. All the patients underwent surgical treatment. The data was recorded via pre-structured questionnaire comprising of inquiries pertaining to socio-demographic details, presenting complaints, and factors association with surgical treatment outcome (in terms of resolution of abscess cavity). Data was analyzed via SPSS version 20. Results: Mean age of study subjects was 37.6 ± 12.5 years. Out of all 72.4% were males and 27.5% were females. Most common presentation of patients was pain in flanks, followed by fever. The commonest etiological factor was tuberculosis (TB) and consequently spinal (TB) was the most common. Resolution of abscess cavity was noted among 77.5% of the cases with a greater proportion of recovery falling in line non- tuberculous etiology. Conclusions: After careful consideration, it can be concluded that secondary psoas muscle and that with tuberculous etiology have a poorer surgical outcome, thus greater care and more effective surgical techniques may be employed to achieve complete resolution of abscess.

240. Epidural Involvement Complicating Pyogenic Spondylodiscitis

Background Pyogenic spondylodiscitis is an infection of the intervertebral disc(s) and/or adjacent vertebrae. It might be associated with epidural involvement. We aimed to study clinical, laboratory and evolutionary features of epidural involvement complicating pyogenic spondylodiscitis. Methods We conducted a retrospective study including patients hospitalized for spondylodiscitis with epidural involvement in the infectious diseases department between 2007 and 2019. Results We included 22 patients among whom 16 were males (72.7%). The mean age was 64±11 years. Eleven patients had diabetes mellitus (50%). The onset of the disease was acute in 18 cases (81.8%) and sub-acute in 4 cases (18.2%). The median delay to diagnosis was 4 [2-13] weeks. The revealing symptoms were back pain (95.5%), fever (68.2%) and asthenia (54.5%). Motor deficit was noted in 9 cases (40.9%), sensory deficit in 4 cases (18.2%) and sphincter dysfunction in one case (4.5%). Physical examination revealed spinal tenderness (77.3%), paravertebral tenderness (22.7%) and spinal stiffness (18.2%). Blood cultures were positive in 13 cases (59.1%) represented by Staphylococcus aureus (31.8%). Elevated C-reactive protein levels (81.8%) and accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (63.6%) were noted. Imaging features showed vertebral body osteolysis (81.8%), inflammation of adjacent soft tissue (81.8%), spinal cord compression (40.9%) and psoas abscess (13.6%). Along with medical treatment, immobilisation (72.7%), abscess drainage (13.6%) and surgery (9.1%) were indicated. The disease evolution was favourable in 20 cases (90.9%). Two patients were dead (9.1%). Sequelae were noted in 9 cases (40.9%) represented by back pain (31.8%) and spinal deformity (9.1%). Conclusion Spondylodiscitis complicated with epidural involvement might lead to complications and sequelae if not promptly diagnosed and treated. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

STUDY OF MRI MORPHOLOGY OF SPINAL TUBERCULOSIS

OBJECTIVE: To study the morphology of tuberculosis of spine on MRI. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A retrospective study was done in the department of Radiodiagnosis, PESIMSR, Kuppam.This study includes 37 patients with suspected Spinal Tuberculosis, who were referred to the department of Radiodiagnosis between 2019 Jan to 2021 July. Informed consent was taken from all the patients. This study was done on GE Signa Explorer 1.5 Tesla. RESULTS: A total of 37 cases were included in the study. Of these 37 cases, 31 were males and 6 were females. The most common age group involved was between 20-40 years, seen in 15 cases followed by 41-60 yrs seen in 14 cases and 61-90 yrs seen in 8 cases. Lumbar vertebrae were commonly affected accounting for 86% of total cases (32cases) followed by dorsal and cervical vertebrae accounting for 8% and 5 % respectively (3 and 2 cases respectively). Intervertebral disc involvement (Discitis) was most commonly seen in 32 cases followed by vertebral endplate involvement (27 cases) in our study. Prevertebral & paravertebral involvement were found in 20 and 23 cases respectively . In our study,19 cases had shown the involvement of posterior elements .Epidural soft tissue component was seen in 22 cases. Psoas abscess and paraspinal involvement were seen in 9 and 8 cases respectively. CONCLUSION: MRI helps in the early assessment of the extent and severity of disease compared to X-ray and CT scan. It is valuable in detecting early marrow changes, intervertebral disc involvement, extradural abscess and cord compression.

1363. Most Psoas Abscesses are Pyogenic; not Tuberculous: Experience from South India

Background It is a common belief that psoas abscess in patients from developing countries like India are mostly tubercular in origin. However, most of the diagnosis of a tubercular psoas abscess are based on radiological features and are not confirmed microbiologically. It is possible that many cases of pyogenic psoas abscesses are misdiagnosed as tubercular due to lack of good quality microbiology lab facilities in developing nations. We studied the microbiology of psoas abscess in patients admitted to KIMSHealth, a tertiary care hospital in Kerala, South India. Methods Clinical details of patients with a diagnosis of psoas abscess over a 6-year period (2015 – 2020) were retrieved from electronic medical records. Microbiological investigations done included bacterial culture of the pus, fungal culture, mycobacterial culture, cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and blood cultures. Results 21 patients who had complete clinical details were included. 15 of them were males and the median age was 58 years. Diabetes mellitus was the most common comorbidity (52%). Fever (61.9%) and back pain (52.4%) were the most common symptoms. The abscess was left sided in 11 patients, right sided in 7 and bilateral in 3. Vertebral involvement was present in 9 patients while hip joint was involved in 3 patients. A microbiological diagnosis was made in 14 patients (66%). Most commonly isolated organism was Staphylococcus aureus (8 patients,MSSA:6, MRSA:2) followed by E.coli (3)and Klebsiella pneumoniae (2). Blood cultures were positive in 5 patients. Anti-tuberculous therapy was started in only one patient, which was based on characteristic histopathology and negative bacterial cultures. Rest of the culture negative cases were also treated as pyogenic abscesses with antibiotics. Surgical drainage was done for 7 patients and pig tail drainage for 3 patients, while percutaneous aspiration was done for 9 patients. All 19 patients who followed up had clinical resolution, while two were lost to follow-up. Conclusion Contrary to what is believed, we observed that most psoas abscesses are pyogenic in origin. Our observations reiterates diligent microbiological investigations in all cases of psoas abscess to avoid empiric anti-tuberculous therapy. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures