Skull base osteomyelitis is a rare, refractory, and potentially fatal disease primarily caused by otogenic and sino rhinogenic infections. At times, it can mimic neoplasia complicating the diagnosis. With the use of antibiotics, advancements in diagnostic methods, and skull base surgical techniques, the mortality rate has significantly improved. However, the successful diagnosis and treatment of the disease is still challenging due to delayed diagnosis, lengthy treatment course, a tendency for relapse and lack of guidelines. Therefore, this article aims to review the progress in the diagnosis and treatment of skull base osteomyelitis.
Humans ; Otitis Externa/diagnosis* ; Skull Base ; Osteomyelitis/complications* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use* ; Diagnosis, Differential

Humans ; Ossification, Heterotopic/diagnostic imaging* ; Osteomyelitis/diagnosis*

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics, pathogenic bacteria, complications and risk factors of prognosis of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis in children. Methods: The clinical manifestations, laboratorg tests, etiological charateristics and clinical data of 107 patients with acute hematogenous osteomyelitis admitted to Beijing Children's Hospital from January 2017 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the drug sensitivity results of Staphylococcus aureus, the group was divided into methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) group; according to the presence or absence of complications, the group was divided into the group with and without complications; according to the prognosis of the follow-up children, the group was divided into good prognosis and poor prognosis. The χ² test or Mann-Whitney U test used for comparison between groups, and Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors for complications and prognosis. Results: Of the 107 patients, 62 were males and 45 were females. The age of presentation was 5.6 (1.7, 10.0) years, including 5 patients (4.7%) age from >28 days to 3 months, 46 patients (43.0%) age from >3 months to 5 years, 43 patients (40.2%)>5-12 years of age, and 13 patients (12.1%)>12-18 years of age. The first symptoms were acute fever in 35 patients (32.7%), limb pain in 24 patients (22.4%), and fever with limb pain in 23 patients (21.5%). Pathogen culture was positive in 75 patients (70.1%), Streptococcus pyogenes, Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli in 1 case (1.4%) each, and Staphylococcus aureus in 72 cases (96.0%), among them, 47 cases were MSSA, 22 cases were MRSA, and 3 cases had positive reports of Staphylococcus aureus from other hospitals without drug-sensitive tests. The proportion of infected children living in rural areas and receiving surgical treatment was higher in the MRSA group than in the MSSA group (14 cases (63.6%) vs. 18 cases (38.3%) and 21 cases (95.5%) vs. 33 cases (70.2%), χ²=3.87, 4.23, both P<0.05). Sixty-five children had no complications while 42 children (39.3%) suffered from complications. Common complications consisted of 19 cases (17.8%) of sepsis, 17 cases (15.9%) of septic arthritis, and 12 cases (11.2%) of venous thrombosis. The group with complications showed higher mental changes, decreased appetite and (or) weakness, positive pathogenic cultures, and time from admission to surgery than the group without complications (18 cases (42.9%) vs. 9 cases (13.8%), 20 cases (47.6%) vs. 12 cases (18.5%), 34 cases (81.0%) vs. 41 cases (63.1%), 3.5 (2.0, 6.0) vs. 2.0 (1.0, 4.0) d,χ²=11.38, 10.35, 3.89, Z=2.21, all P<0.05). The poor prognosis group had more comorbidities, combined local complications, and positive aureus than the good prognosis group (10/15 vs. 34.9% (30/86), 7/15 vs. 17.4% (15/86), 14/15 vs. 61.6% (53/86), χ²=5.39, 6.40, 4.42, all P<0.05). Multifactorial Logistic regression analysis showed that acute phase C-reactive protein (CRP) was both an independent risk factor for complications (OR=1.01, 95%CI 1.01-1.02) and an independent risk factor for poor prognosis (OR=1.01, 95%CI 1.00-1.02). Conclusions: The first symptoms of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis are acute fever, limb pain, and fever with limb pain are most common. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogenic organism. Those with loss of appetite and (or) weakness, mental changes, positive pathogenic cultures, and longer time between admission and surgery are prone to complications. Those with complications, combined local complications, and positive for Staphylococcus aureus had a poor prognosis. Elevated CRP is an independent risk factor not only for complications but for poor prognosis as well.
Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use* ; Child ; Female ; Fever/etiology* ; Humans ; Male ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Osteomyelitis/microbiology* ; Pain/drug therapy* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Staphylococcal Infections/diagnosis* ; Staphylococcus aureus

Orocutaneous fistulas, or cutaneous sinuses of odontogenic origin, are uncommon but often misdiagnosed as skin lesions unrelated to dental origin by physicians. Accurate diagnosis and use of correct investigative modalities are important because orocutaneous fistulas are easily confused for skin or bone tumors, osteomyelitis, infected cysts, salivary gland fistulas, and other pathologies. The aim of this study is to present our experience with a patient with orocutaneous fistulas of odontogenic origin presenting as recurrent pyogenic granuloma of the cheek, and to discuss their successful treatment.
Cheek ; Cutaneous Fistula ; Diagnosis ; Fistula ; Granuloma, Pyogenic ; Humans ; Osteomyelitis ; Pathology ; Recurrence ; Salivary Gland Fistula ; Skin

BACKGROUND: Osteomyelitis is an intraosseous inflammatory disease characterized by progressive inflammatory osteoclasia and ossification. The use of quantitative analysis to assist interpretation of osteomyelitis is increasingly being considered. The objective of this study was to perform early diagnosis of osteomyelitis on digital panoramic radiographs using basic functions provided by picture archiving and communication system (PACS), a program used to show radiographic images. METHODS: This study targeted a total of 95 patients whose symptoms were confirmed as osteomyelitis under clinical, radiologic, pathological diagnosis over 11 years from 2008 to 2017. Five categorized patients were osteoradionecrosis, bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of jaw (BRONJ, suppurative and sclerosing type), and bacterial osteomyelitis (suppurative and sclerosing type), and the control group was 117 randomly sampled. The photographic density in a certain area of the digital panoramic radiograph was determined and compared using the “measure area rectangle,” one of the basic PACS functions in INFINITT PACS® (INFINITT Healthcare, Seoul, South Korea). A conditional inference tree, one type of decision making tree, was generated with the program R for statistical analysis with SPSS®. RESULTS: In the conditional inference tree generated from the obtained data, cases where the difference in average value exceeded 54.49 and the difference in minimum value was less than 54.49 and greater than 12.81 and the difference in minimum value exceeded 39 were considered suspicious of osteomyelitis. From these results, the disease could be correctly classified with a probability of 88.1%. There was no difference in photographic density value of BRONJ and bacterial osteomyelitis; therefore, it was not possible to classify BRONJ and bacterial osteomyelitis by quantitative analysis of panoramic radiographs based on existing research. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that it is feasible to measure photographic density using a basic function in PACS and apply the data to assist in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s40902-019-0188-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Decision Making ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Jaw ; Osteomyelitis ; Osteonecrosis ; Osteoradionecrosis ; Seoul ; Trees

This study presents a case of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in a 58-year-old man showing unusual manifestations mimicking chronic osteomyelitis. In this case review, we describe the imaging findings of DLBCL which mimics chronic osteomyelitis and review existing reports regarding the differential diagnosis of bone involvement of lymphoma and osteomyelitis through imaging and laboratory findings and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) such as the advanced MRI sequence.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Diffusion ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Osteomyelitis

Tuberculosis in the foot progresses gradually; thus, diagnosis is usually delayed, and early treatment is rarely provided. If osteomyelitis occurs due to delayed diagnosis and treatment, surgical treatment should be considered. We report the case of a 46-year-old man with osteomyelitis of the calcaneus who was diagnosed with multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis and he was treated with anti-tuberculosis drugs. Bilateral adrenal masses, abscess of both testes and a small wound in the left plantar heel were observed. Both adrenal masses and abscess were regarded as paradoxical reaction of anti-tuberculosis treatment. After 1 month, he developed a pain in the left plantar heel that was compatible with calcaneal osteomyelitis in radiological features. He underwent right orchiectomy for right scrotal abscess aggravation and surgical treatment for left calcaneal osteomyelitis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. The patient was immobilized by cast for 8 weeks and the heel pain gradually improved.
Abscess ; Calcaneus ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Diagnosis ; Foot ; Heel ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Orchiectomy ; Osteomyelitis ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Testis ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; Wounds and Injuries

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

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is one of the most severe form of chronic non-bacterial osteomyelitis (CNO), which could result in bone and related tissue damage. This autoinflammatory bone disorder (ABD) is very difficult for its clinical diagnosis because of no diagnostic criteria or biomarkers. CRMO in the jaw must be suspected in the differential diagnosis of chronic and recurrent bone pain in the jaw, and a bone biopsy should be considered in chronic and relapsing bone pain with swelling that is unresponsive to treatment. The early diagnosis of CRMO in the jaw will prevent unnecessary and prolonged antibiotic usage or unnecessary surgical intervention. The updated researches for the identification of genetic and molecular alterations in CNO/CRMO should be studied more for its correct pathophysiological causes and proper treatment guidelines. Although our trial consisted of reporting items from Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), there are very few articles of randomized controlled trials. This article was summarized based on the author's diverse clinical experiences. This paper reviews the clinical presentation of CNO/CRMO with its own pathogenesis, epidemiology, recent research studies, and general medications. Treatment and monitoring of the jaw are essential for the clear diagnosis and management of CNO/CRMO patients in the field of dentistry and maxillofacial surgery.
Biomarkers ; Biopsy ; Dentistry ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Early Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Jaw ; Osteomyelitis ; Surgery, Oral

Behçet's disease is a systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcers and uveitis. The vascular involvement of Behçet's disease affects arteries, veins, and blood vessels of all sizes, and it can include venous or arterial thrombosis and arterial aneurysms. There are only a few reports of an aortic aneurysm invading a vertebral body in a patient with Behçet's disease. Here, we report the case of a 45-year-old man who was initially diagnosed with vertebral invasion of a mycotic aneurysm. He underwent vascular surgery and received empirical antibiotics, but all cultures were negative. However, he had persistent, recurrent deep vein thrombosis and elevated inflammatory markers. After reviewing the pathology, a final diagnosis of Behçet's disease was made. He was successfully treated with corticosteroids. This report presents a rare case of Behçet's disease mimicking vertebral invasion of a mycotic aneurysm.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, Infected* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Aortic Aneurysm ; Arteries ; Behcet Syndrome ; Blood Vessels ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Osteomyelitis ; Pathology ; Systemic Vasculitis ; Thrombosis ; Ulcer ; Uveitis ; Veins ; Venous Thrombosis