Osteomyelitis is a bacterial infection of the bone, bone marrow, and soft tissue around the bone. Bacteria get into bone from the bloodstream after a broken bone or other trauma, boil or break in the skin, middle ear infection, pneumonia, or other infections.
Osteomyelitis can start quickly and be very painful, or it can build slowly and cause less pain. People are more likely to get osteomyelitis if they have diabetes, are having dialysis, or inject drugs into the body.
Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi can cause the infection. The infection usually starts somewhere else in the body and moves through the blood to end up in bone.
Symptoms include high temperature and pain in the bone. The area around the bone and nearby joint can be swollen, red, and warm. Other symptoms are feeling sick, nausea, sweating, and chills. Complications include an abscess that won’t heal until the bone heals and permanent joint stiffness.
The health care provider will do blood tests to check white blood cells for infection and look for bacteria or fungi causing the infection.
Other tests are x-rays of the bone, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or bone scan to find infected bone, and bone biopsy. In a biopsy, a needle is used to get a sample of bone for study. A bone biopsy is the best way to tell if a patient has osteomyelitis.
Osteomyelitis can be cured with medicine. Antibiotics are given, maybe for several weeks, to get rid of infection.
A hospital stay may be needed to drain an abscess or give high doses of intravenous antibiotics. Pain relievers may be needed.
The affected limb should be rested, kept slightly raised, and immobilized with pillows. A lower limb shouldn’t bear weight. If long bed rest is needed, other limbs should be exercised, with frequent changes of position.
In people with long-term infection, the bone may die. A surgeon will remove dead bone.
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Copyright © 2016 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc.
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