Discrimination between tuberculous and bacterial pyomyositis in magnetic resonance features

The purpose of this study was to assess the differences of magnetic resonance features between tuberculous and bacterial pyomyositis.

This is a retrospective study of patients with bacterial and tuberculous pyomyositis. We excluded patients with pyomyositis caused by actinomycosis, non-tuberculous mycobacterium, fungi, unknown of causative organism, or inadequate imaging for analysis. Magnetic resonance imaging was independently reviewed by two radiologists.

Of the 136 pyomyositis patients, 71 (52.2 %) patients had bacterial pyomyositis while 65 (47.8 %) patients had tuberculous pyomyositis. Seventy-seven patients (56.6 %) had intramuscular abscess. On multivariable analysis, bacterial pyomyositis was associated with diabetes mellitus (odds ratio [OR] 3.17, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.30-8.24) and bone marrow involvement (OR 5.02, 95 % CI 1.21-34.4). Spinal involvement had a significantly lower likelihood of bacterial pyomyositis (OR 0.25, 95 %CI 0.11-0.54). In patients with intramuscular abscess, diabetes mellitus and hyperintense on T2-weighted images at the abscess wall had a significantly higher likelihood of bacterial pyomyositis (OR 5.21, 95 %CI 1.33-25.42 and OR 5.34, 95 %CI 1.36-24.71, respectively), whereas spinal involvement had a significantly lower likelihood of bacterial pyomyositis (OR 0.09, 95 %CI 0.02-0.30).

Magnetic resonance imaging has modest accuracy for differentiation of tuberculous and bacterial pyomyositis. Diabetes mellitus and extraspinal pyomyositis were the predictors of bacterial pyomyositis. Presence of T2 hyperintense wall of intramuscular abscess was also the predictor of bacterial pyomyositis.