Bilateral supraclavicular abscesses following trigger point injections

Abstract

A 54-year-old-woman presented to the emergency department with worsening bilateral shoulder pain six days after trigger point injections in the bilateral supraclavicular areas for chronic pain. A computed tomography scan of the neck revealed bilateral irregular rim enhancing fluid collections. Image-guided percutaneous drainage resulted in marked improvement and near complete resolution by 17 days post-drainage. This case demonstrates the need for early detection of soft-tissue infection and abscess formation related to interventional pain procedures to avoid potentially life-threatening complications, such as Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

Keywords

• Trigger point injection
• Interventional pain
• Abscess
• Percutaneous drainage