Obturator Internus Muscle Abscess

In the December 1993 issue of AJDC, Souid et al¹ describe a child with primary abscess of the internal obturator muscle. They present a review of the literature and indicate that this infection had not been previously reported. However, this admittedly uncommon clinical entity has indeed been described in the pediatric literature. Hakim et al² described two young children (aged 6 and 4½ years) with abscesses of the internal obturator muscle. In an addendum, they described an additional three children (aged 3, 12, and 15 years) with obturator or iliacus internus abscesses. We³ also described primary abscess of the internal obturator muscle in a 3-year-old patient.

These cases illustrate the diagnostic challenge presented by this infection. All of the children presented with fever, limp, and limited range of motion of the hip; leukocytosis and an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate were also found. These findings mimic septic arthritis