Pyomyositis in Swaziland
Tilma, A.
South African Medical Journal 51(2): 39-41
1977
ISSN/ISBN: 0256-9574 PMID: 835038 Document Number: 112255
In a subtropical region of Swaziland about 27 deg south, 25 patients were admitted to hospital in one year with pyomyositis and 2 of them died. Among 29 abscesses from 22 persons 16 gave Staphylococcus cultures and 13 did not. Antibiotics are of no use, except for complications such as septicaemia, and the organisms develop resistance if antibiotics are used. Treatment was by incision and drainage, with ascorbic acid 1500 mg and 3 multivitamin tablets daily, and survivors recovered rapidly.Diet was mainly of maizemeal porridge and was low in ascorbic acid. Traditional iron pots allow oxidation of ascorbic acid during cooking and in vivo owing to large deposits of Fe in the body; haemosiderosis was frequent. There were occasional scurvy, spontaneous fractures and haematomata in the population. The 25 studied had gum and teeth signs but not obvious scurvy or phrynoderma. Hb was low, but not below average for other persons in the hospital. There was no means of estimating leucocyte ascorbic acid or serum Fe.