[Staphylococcal infection after intramuscular injection].

A 74-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man admitted to hospital for backache and somnolence both showed growth of Staphylococcus aureus in blood cultures. One patient died from septic shock. In both patients septicemia was secondary to a gluteal abscess after intramuscular injection of antirheumatic drugs. Diagnosis was particularly difficult due to lack of local signs. Local pain hardly differed from that of the original "rheumatic" backache. The literature is reviewed and diagnosis and treatment are discussed.