Sternoclavicular joint infection and mediastinitis originally attributed to concomitant rotator cuff pathology.

Sternoclavicular septic joint arthritis is a relatively rare infection.1 Clinical recognition may be hampered by minor signs and symptoms and the tendency of sternoclavicular joint pain to be referred to the shoulder.1,2 In advanced cases, sternoclavicular joint sepsis can progress to descending mediastinitis. Prompt recognition and treatment is critical given the potentially life-threatening consequences of this infection. This article presents an elderly woman with a neck and retrosternal abscess secondary to a septic sternoclavicular joint. Her symptoms were originally attributed to a torn rotator cuff. This article demonstrates the varied presentation of sternoclavicular joint pathology in the evaluation of shoulder pain and presents one scenario in which misdiagnosis could have had fatal consequences.