The late effect of grenade fragments.
Following the explosion of a grenade or shell, the victim may be peppered with literally hundreds of pieces of metal. Troublesome fragments which perforate a major viscus may be removed but others are often left behind, as it is felt (usually correctly) that these fragments will cause no harm. We describe a case in which a grenade fragment received 16 years previously pierced the large bowel. A psoas abscess developed which was located by ultrasound. Pus was aspirated under ultrasound control and the lesion was successfully treated by antibiotics.
D000038:Abscess / Q000209:etiology*; D000328:Adult; D001442:Bacteroides Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D001441:Bacteroides fragilis; D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D003106:Colon / Q000293:injuries*; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007416:Intestinal Perforation / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D012187:Retroperitoneal Space; D013997:Time Factors; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000150:complications*