Acute infections of bone and joints is a curable condition and the chance of cure is related to a number of factors like type and virulence of the organism, resistance of the host, choice of antibiotics, early drainage of the joint in septic arthritis and appropriate treatment after early diagnosis with adequate dosage and duration of antibiotic therapy. Late diagnosis and inadequate treatment can often lead to high mortality and morbidity and leave the patient with crippling sequelae like chronic osteomyelitis, joint destruction, pain, shortening, deformity and limp.
Acute Disease ; Arthritis, Infectious ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Humans ; Osteomyelitis ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Suppuration

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Femur ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Osteomyelitis ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy

C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Osteomyelitis ; diagnosis ; therapy

Chronic osteomyelitis is one of the most common disorder in clinic. In recent years due to diabetes, peripheral vascular disease and trauma induced disease increased, the prevalence rate increased. With the development of magnetic resonance imaging and CT imaging technology, it greatly improved the accuracy of clinical diagnosis of chronic osteomyclitis and ability to describe the infection characteristics, and provide a reliable basis for clinical treatment. The current research on chronic osteomyelitis mainly concentrated on the aspects of imaging applications and ways of using antibiotic optimization control inflammation, defect restoration and reconstruction of blood supply and treatment. But the best time to the antibiotic therapy and the use of program is still uncertain, for after debridement, bone grafting time and defect repair function of fast recovery still need further research.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Osteomyelitis ; diagnosis ; therapy

Candida vertebral osteomyelitis (CVO) is a rare disease that is a complication of intravenous drug use, but recently it has been recognized as mostly an opportunistic infection. Because CVO appears to mimic pyogenic spondylodiscitis in terms of the clinical and radiologic presentations, it is often neglected in a usual clinical setting. The clinical, radiological, and biological characteristics of CVO are often used to make a differential diagnosis with vertebral osteomyelitis from other etiologies. Once an initial proper diagnosis was performed, the treatment relies on the prompt initiation of appropriate pharmacotherapy and serial monitoring of the clinical progress. This paper report late-onset CVO in two young patients who underwent a heart transplant surgery and had postoperative systemic candidiasis. These two cases are a good reminder of the potential of CVO in immunosuppressive patients treated with anti-fungal agents. This paper presents these two cases with a review of the relevant literature.
Candida ; Candidiasis ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Discitis ; Drug Therapy ; Heart Transplantation ; Heart ; Humans ; Opportunistic Infections ; Osteomyelitis ; Population Characteristics ; Rare Diseases

Pyogenic spondylitis involving only the posterior element of a vertebra is rare. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports of osteomyelitis of the transverse process. We report here on a 45-year-old male with a one month history of swelling associated with lower back pain. The magnetic resonance imaging showed a paraspinal soft tissue mass, and computed tomography revealed a fine osteolytic lesion in the right transverse process of the 5th lumbar spine, and this was all consistent with chronic osteomyelitis. A mixed staphylococcal infection was identified. Open drainage, resection of the transverse process and intravenous injection of anti-staphylococcal antibiotics resolved the back pain and reduced the erythrocyte sedimentation rate to normal. Pyogenic osteomyelitis of the transverse process is extremely rare, which can cause a misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis. Careful consideration of this disease is needed when evaluating patients who complain of back pain.
Chronic Disease ; Humans ; *Lumbar Vertebrae ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteomyelitis/*diagnosis/therapy ; Spinal Diseases/*diagnosis/therapy ; Staphylococcal Infections/*diagnosis/therapy ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVEIn order to sum up the experience of diagnosis and treatment, the clinical information, diagnostic approach and treatment strategies from 23 patients with hematogenous pyogenic discitis and vertebral osteomyelitis (PDVO) in adults were reviewed.

METHODSA retrospective record review was conducted of all cases of hematogenous PDVO from July 1999 to October 2006, the diagnostic approach and the treatment strategies were discussed.

RESULTSThe average age was 55.4 years. The average delayed diagnosis time was 4.4 months (range, 4 weeks to 11 months). Of these, 17 had underlying diseases such as diabetes mellitus, chronic alcoholism, liver cirrhosis, rheumatic disease, and the use of corticosteroids. All percent had elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rates and C-reactive proteins, while white blood cell counts were less reliably elevated. Imaging studies included radiographs and MRI. Seven patients were treated with immobilization and intravenous antibiotic drugs. Because of a delay in diagnosis, 16 patients underwent operative treatment for hematogenous PDVO using staged anterior debridement and Bone grafting with iliac crest or rib strut, anterior spinal instrumentation in 3 patients, posterior instrumentation was placed in 7 patients at a second procedure 10 days to 2 weeks following initial operation. Twenty-three patients were followed-up for an average period of 27 months, with a minimum of 6 months and the longest for 7 years. The patients return to their preoperative everyday activity. No patient had a recurrence of osteomyelitis. All their symptoms improved after surgery, bony fusion occurred in 87.5% of cases.

CONCLUSIONSAdult hematogenous PDVO is a disease that affects mainly older patients suffering underlying medical illnesses. Positive blood cultures is valuable for the diagnosis. Hematogenous PDVO may require surgery in case of a development of biomechanical instability and/or a vertebral collapse with progressive deformity. In experienced hands, surgical debridement, interbody fusion, and anterior or posterior instrumentation is a safe and effective treatment.

Adult ; Aged ; Discitis ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteomyelitis ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; therapy ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Tuberculosis is a systemic disease with a world-wide distribution, and its occurance in the oral cavity is well documented in the literature. Disease of oral cavity and jaw caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is very rare, so it is often difficult to diagnose tuberculosis in the oral cavity. When granulomatous and ulcerative lesion persists in the oral cavity for a long time, it may be considered a tuberculosis. When differential diagnosis is needed, the most reliable indicators of mycobacterial infection are careful clinical evaluation, skin test, acid-fast staining, biopsy and culture. We report a case of tuberculous osteomyelitis which simultaneously occurred on the maxilla and mandible in a 85 years old man that proved diagnosis difficult, but which responded very well to surgical treatment and chemotherapy.
Aged, 80 and over ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Jaw ; Mandible* ; Maxilla* ; Mouth ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Osteomyelitis* ; Skin Tests ; Tuberculosis ; Ulcer

Squamous cell carcinoma has occasionally been encountered in orthopedic practice as a complication of chronic osteomyelitis, burn scar and other lesions. The possible occurrence of this secondary change impose difficulty in the diagnosis and management of chronic orthopedic diseases. During 11 years from 1966 to 1976, 16 cases of squamous cell carcinoma were confirmed by histopathological examination and the results of clinical observation on them are summarized here. l. Of 16 patients, men were 15 and woman one. Their average age was 51.3 years 2. The primary lesions in which this malignancy developed were osteomyelitis (5 cases), and scar (5 cases), and scar after extensive laceration (2 cases). In one case no primary lesion was present. 3. Average duration of symptomatology of the primary lesion was 35.4 years in osteomyelitis and 31.2 yeary in burnscar. 4. Location of the lesion was in lower extremity in 15 cases, eight of which were in the leg. 5. Methods of treatment undertaken were; amputation (10 cases), chemotherapy (2 cases), chemotherapy and irradation (1 case). In three no treatment was done because of refusal. 6. The follow-up study was possible in five of them. Of four cases amputated, one was well alive for two years after ablation with no evidence of metastasis, the others two showed spread, to inguinal nodes in one and ribs in the other, after two years and the fourth died of unknown disease after two years. The fifth died, after initial remission with chemotherpy and irradation, of lung cancer after two years.
Amputation ; Burns ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cicatrix ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Epithelial Cells ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lacerations ; Leg ; Lower Extremity ; Lung Neoplasms ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Orthopedics ; Osteomyelitis ; Ribs

Skull base osteomyelitis (SBO) is difficult to diagnose when a patient presents with multiple cranial nerve palsies but no obvious infectious focus. There is no report about SBO with septic pulmonary embolism. A 51-yr-old man presented to our hospital with headache, hoarseness, dysphagia, frequent choking, fever, cough, and sputum production. He was diagnosed of having masked mastoiditis complicated by SBO with multiple cranial nerve palsies, sigmoid sinus thrombosis, and septic pulmonary embolism. We successfully treated him with antibiotics and anticoagulants alone, with no surgical intervention. His neurologic deficits were completely recovered. Decrease of pulmonary nodules and thrombus in the sinus was evident on the follow-up imaging one month later. In selected cases of intracranial complications of SBO and septic pulmonary embolism, secondary to mastoiditis with early response to antibiotic therapy, conservative treatment may be considered and surgical intervention may be withheld.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Anticoagulants/therapeutic use ; C-Reactive Protein/analysis ; Cranial Nerve Diseases/complications/diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Enterobacter aerogenes/isolation & purification ; Enterobacteriaceae Infections/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Humans ; Lung/pathology/radiography ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Mastoiditis/complications/diagnosis ; Middle Aged ; Osteomyelitis/complications/*diagnosis/drug therapy ; Pulmonary Embolism/complications/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial/complications/diagnosis ; Skull Base ; Sputum/microbiology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed