[Skin embolisation by drugs (author's transl)].

After intragluteal injection of a drug mixture in a 39-year-old woman, circumscribed necroses developed at the site of injection. This is a rare complication of intramuscular administration of certain drugs, most of them antirheumatic agents. A haemorrhagic dermatitis develops, which may progress to necrosis. Healing occurs after spontaneous or surgical (deep excision) exclusion of the necrotic area with atrophic scarring. The complication is so rare that there is no requirement for the doctor to inform the patient of this possibility before injection. Nor is there liability by the doctor or the nurse who undertake the injections.