Emergency physician-performed bedside ultrasound of pyomyositis

Abstract

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an indispensable tool for emergency physicians in the rapid bedside diagnosis of skin and soft tissue infections. The utility of POCUS for the differentiation of cellulitis and subcutaneous abscess is well established; however, there is a paucity of studies highlighting POCUS as a first-line imaging approach for pyomyositis, an uncommon skeletal muscle infection and/or intramuscular abscess formation requiring emergent diagnosis. This report describes a case in which emergency physician-performed POCUS led to the early detection and timely management of pyomyositis in the emergency department.

Keywords: emergency department; intramuscular abscess; muscle infection; point‐of‐care ultrasound; pyomyositis; ultrasonography.