Brodie's abscess of the proximal femoral epiphysis in an adult woman with systemic lupus erythematosus.

We report an unusual case of pathologically proved femoral head Brodie's abscess mimicking avascular necrosis of bone in a 51-year-old woman with a 2-year history of corticosteroid treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus. On plain radiographs, a rounded lucency and thin sclerotic margins together with subchondral collapse and a lytic region were observed in the femoral head. The histopathologic examination revealed a central abscess formation surrounded by fibrous tissue with the aggregation of neutrophils and plasma cells. To our knowledge, this is the first case report describing a Brodie's abscess which had developed within the proximal femoral epiphysis in an adult.