Psoas abscess complicating Crohn's disease: Report of a case

We describe herein the case of a psoas abscess complicating Crohn's disease , and present a review of the literature on this unusual disease entity. A 22-year-old Japanese man with a 5-year history of Crohn's ileocolitis prese nted with right lower abdominal and hip pain, and a diagnosis of right psoa s abscess was subsequently made by abdominal computed tomography (CT). Foll owing the administration of antibiotics and CT-guided percutaneous drainage of the abscess, the patient's symptoms temporarily improved; however, 2 we eks later, the abscess cavity was found to have extended around the periart icular tissue of the right hip joint. To prevent the development of septic arthritis of the hip joint, surgical drainage of the abscess cavity and ile ocecal resection were immediately performed, after which the patient's cond ition greatly improved. The resected specimen showed Crohn's ileocolitis wi th an external fistula in the terminal ileum which was considered to have c aused the psoas abscess. Since psoas abscess in Crohn's disease can result in serious complications such as septic arthritis of the hip joint if left untreated, aggressive treatment should be initiated without delay.