Gluteal pyomyositis in a non-tropical region as a rare cause of sciatic nerve compression: a case report

Tamer Kamal¹ , Mathew Hall^*¹ , Ashraf Moharam^*² , Michael Sharr^*¹ and Jonathan Walczak^*¹

¹Orthopaedic and Traumatology Department, Princess Royal University Hospital, Orpington, Kent, UK

²Orthopaedic and Traumatology Department, Cairo University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

Journal of Medical Case Reports 2008, 2:204doi:10.1186/1752-1947-2-204


Published:	12 June 2008

Abstract

Introduction

Pyomyositis, or isolated abscess formation within a skeletal muscle, is a relatively common condition in tropical climates but it is only encountered rarely in temperate zones.

Case presentation

We present a case of non-tropical pyomyositis of the gluteal muscle in a 26-year-old, previously healthy man from the United Kingdom, who initially presented with sciatica-like symptoms which began 3 days after a mosquito bite on his nose, which had become infected and discharged pus.

Conclusion

Gluteal pyomyositis involving the sciatic nerve may initially present as radiculopathy. Mosquito bites may have been the source of transient bacteraemia that contributed to muscle suppuration in this patient. This may explain, at least in part, the increased incidence of pyomyositis in healthy individuals living in tropical regions.