Abstract
A 51-year-old woman visited the hospital because of pain and swelling in the left anterior chest region. Computed tomography revealed a large abscess with bone destruction in the left sternoclavicular joint and gas patterns from the subcutaneous tissue to the anterior mediastinum. There was no history of bone destruction of the sternoclavicular joint. Pathological examination revealed inflammatory cell infiltration in the bone and granulation tissue but no other lesions. Hence, a combined diagnosis of pyogenic arthritis of the left sternoclavicular joint, clavicular pyogenic osteomyelitis, and mediastinal abscess was made. The patient was treated three times with surgical debridement and antibiotics for 63 days. No recurrence was observed after discharge, and the patient is currently receiving regular outpatient care.
