The Aseptic Abscess Syndrome (AAS) is a systemic disorder of unknown cause associated with sterile abscesses.
The patient has:
(1) fever
(2) abdominal pain
(3) leukocytosis
(4) focal collections of neutrophils (abscesses) within one or more organs, most often intra-abdominal
(5) negative bacterial and fungal cultures
The abscesses may be in:
(1) spleen
(2) lymph nodes
(3) pancreas
(4) liver
(5) lung
(6) brain
The patient does not respond to antibiotics but does respond to corticosteroids with or without TNF-alpha blockade.
Conditions associated with AAS:
(1) inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis)
(2) relapsing polychondritis
(3) idiopathic
Related disorder: pustular form of pyoderma gangrenosum
Differential diagnosis:
(1) abscess with failure to culture the underlying organism (error in collection, handling or culturing)
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Specialty: Immunology/Rheumatology, Infectious Diseases, Hematology Oncology
ICD-10: ,