What is osteomyelitis?

Osteomyelitis is a bacterial, or fungal, infection of the bone. Osteomyelitis affects about 2 out of every 10,000 people.

What is osteomyelitis menu?

Osteomyelitis Menu. Osteomyelitis is a bacterial, or fungal, infection of the bone. Osteomyelitis affects about 2 out of every 10,000 people. If left untreated, the infection can become chronic and cause a loss of blood supply to the affected bone.

What causes osteomyelitis in children?

Osteomyelitis may occur as a result of a bacterial bloodstream infection, sometimes called bacteremia, or sepsis, that spreads to the bone. This type is most common in infants and children and usually affects their long bones like the femur (thighbone) or humerus (upper arm bone).

How did Cierny and Mader classify osteomyelitis?

Cierny and Mader classified osteomyelitis based on the affected portion of the bone, the physiologic status of the host and the local environment.

Osteomyelitis is inflammation of the bone marrow secondary to infection, which can progress to osteonecrosis, bone destruction and septic arthritis. It is an important cause of permanent disability in both children and adults worldwide (1).

What are the treatment modalities for osteomyelitis?

Table 1 Treatment modalities for different types of osteomyelitis. Anatomic type Description Treatment I. Medullary Endosteal nidus: Infection is confined to medullary space; treatment likely does not require bone grafting. Small unroofing of cortex, curettage of medullary space, medullary reaming II. Superficial

What are the alternatives to MRI in the workup of osteomyelitis?

If MRI is contraindicated or unavailable, nuclear medicine studies and CT are useful alternatives. The triple phase bone scan has high sensitivity for detecting acute osteomyelitis in non-violated bone. For violated bone, a combined white cell and bone marrow scan is the current study of choice.

What is the pathophysiology of pediatric osteomyelitis?

In neonates, S. aureus, group B streptococci, and gram-negative enteric bacteria are the most common pathogens. In children, S. aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Streptococcus pneumoniae are most common. Community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is a growing cause of pediatric osteomyelitis.