Sometimes, infection within bones can spread into a nearby joint.
Complications of osteomyelitis include: Abscesses: Infection may spread to muscles and soft tissue, causing abscesses. These pockets of pus can seep through your skin. People with chronic osteomyelitis are more likely to have recurring abscesses.
The infection spreads to the bone after several days or weeks. This type of spread is particularly likely to occur in older people. Such an infection may start in an area damaged by an injury or surgery, radiation therapy, or cancer or in a skin ulcer (particularly a foot ulcer) caused by poor circulation or diabetes.
Symptoms of Osteomyelitis
Nausea. Tenderness, redness, and warmth in the area of the infection. Swelling around the affected bone.
While some cases of osteomyelitis are of unknown causes, the infection is usually transmitted through the bloodstream from one area of the body to another (Hematogenous osteomyelitis).
Blood tests may reveal elevated levels of white blood cells and other factors that may indicate that your body is fighting an infection. If osteomyelitis is caused by an infection in the blood, tests may reveal which germs are to blame. No blood test can tell your doctor whether you do or don't have osteomyelitis.
With treatment, the outcome for acute osteomyelitis is often good. The outlook is worse for those with long-term (chronic) osteomyelitis. Symptoms may come and go for years, even with surgery. Amputation may be needed, especially in people with diabetes or poor blood circulation.
Osteomyelitis complications may include: Bone death (osteonecrosis). An infection in your bone can impede blood circulation within the bone, leading to bone death. Areas where bone has died need to be surgically removed for antibiotics to be effective.
Osteomyelitis is the term for a bone infection. Bacteria or viruses in your child's bloodstream or tissue may infect a bone, causing osteomyelitis. Infection is more common in the long bones of the body, but it can affect any bone. Osteomyelitis is a serious condition requiring immediate medical attention.
Treatment may include: Medications. Administration of intravenous (IV) antibiotics, which may require hospitalization or may be given on an outpatient schedule. Intravenous or oral antibiotic treatment for osteomyelitis may be very extensive, lasting for many weeks.
The symptoms of osteomyelitis can depend on the location of the infection, its severity, and the person's age and general health. They commonly include: pain, which can be severe. swelling and tenderness in the affected area.
However, if all infected bone is removed, as in forefoot osteomyelitis, antibiotic therapy can be shortened to 10 days. Oral antibiotics that have been proved to be effective include clindamycin, rifampin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and fluoroquinolones.
Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of acute and chronic hematogenous osteomyelitis in adults and children. [1][5] Increasingly isolated from patients with osteomyelitis is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Bone Infections
The infections are usually bacterial, but can also be fungal. They may spread to the bone from nearby skin or muscles, or from another part of the body through the bloodstream. People who are at risk for bone infections include those with diabetes, poor circulation, or recent injury to the bone.
CT Scans. A CT scan uses X-rays and a computer to create detailed, three-dimensional, cross-sectional images of your tissues and internal organs. A CT scan may reveal bone damage caused by an infection. Your doctor may inject a contrast agent into a vein to enhance the quality of the image.
Because of the unique structure and nature of bone and its blood supply, infections can be very difficult to treat. If antibiotics are unable to eradicate the bone infection, surgery is sometimes required to remove the infection and any associated dead and infected bone.
It can be difficult to completely eliminate osteomyelitis, which can become a chronic infection. Multiple surgeries may be needed to completely remove the damaged or dead bone.
Treatment for osteomyelitis
You'll usually take antibiotics for 4 to 6 weeks. If you have a severe infection, the course may last up to 12 weeks. It's important to finish a course of antibiotics even if you start to feel better.
Brain abscess is the commonest complication of skull osteomyelitis. This is usually associated with subperiosteal abscess. Frontal lobe abscess present as subtle personality changes. Radiological features vary with the duration of the infection.
Is bone infection difficult to treat? Bone infection can be difficult to treat because bacteria are constantly changing to fight the new antibiotics that are used to kill them.
MRI is highly sensitive for detecting osteomyelitis as early as 3 to 5 days after the onset of infection.
The gold standard for the diagnosis of osteomyelitis is bone biopsy with histopathologic examination and tissue culture.
The crude mortality rate of osteomyelitis associated with diabetes increased with age (<55 years: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.48–0.52; 55 to 64 years: 5.49, 95% CI: 5.30–5.67; 65 to 74 years: 11.77, 95% CI: 11.44–12.10; 75 to 84 years: 21.82, 95% CI: 21.25–22.40; and 85+ years: 36.86, 95% CI: 35.67–38.05).