A 58-year-old man had severe lower back pain after minor trauma. This was initially treated with simple analgesics but with little effect. He was referred for injection of betamethasone and lignocaine into the left iliolumbar angle, which was followed by immediate relief of pain. One week later, he was hospitalized for worsening back pain, fever, and night sweats. Results of plain radiographs of the lumbar spine were reported as normal. Scintigraphy was consistent with a paraspinal abscess, which was confirmed on CT, MRI, and blood cultures. Blood cultures obtained at the time of admission grew Staphylococcus aureus, which was sensitive to methicillin. The patient responded to intravenous antibiotics.
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Magee et al. (2000) studied this question.