$Unique_ID{BRK02046} $Pretitle{} $Title{What to Expect from Osteomyelitis} $Subject{osteomyelitis bone marrow infection bones infection blood bacteria fungi fungus femur tibia humerus diabetics diabetes sinus infections dental infection staphylococcus streptococci hemophilus influenzae penicillin antibiotic antibiotics sequestra} $Volume{} $Log{} Copyright (c) 1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc. What to Expect from Osteomyelitis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ QUESTION: Recently I was diagnosed as having osteomyelitis. Research in local libraries hasn't yielded much information. I would appreciate knowing what to expect as time goes on. I am currently taking penicillin 4 times a day. Thank you for any help you can provide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ANSWER: If we analyze the meaning of the word "osteomyelitis", by looking at the Greek words from which it was formed, we can obtain a pretty accurate definition of this condition. "Osteo" means "bone", "myelos" indicates "marrow", and "itis" indicates infection. Thus this is a condition where the marrow of the bone is infected, usually by a bacteria, sometimes by fungi. It can be difficult to establish the exact cause of the disease, and is often difficult to treat. It usually develops in the long bones of the body, the femur and the tibia in the legs and the humerus in the arms, and is more common in children than adults. It is almost always located in bones that have a good blood supply and a rich marrow. It can be caused by a local infection of soft tissue that spreads to the bone, enter the bone directly from open fractures due to accidents, or spread to the bone through the blood stream from an infection in some distant site of the body. Osteomyelitis in the legs in diabetics frequently comes from foot ulcers, and when osteomyelitis appears in the skull, it is often starts as a sinus or dental infection. To properly treat the infection, it is important to identify the exact bacteria or fungus that is the cause. In many cases it is but a single organism, usually a staphylococcus, but streptococci and hemophilus influenzae can also be found. In more complicated cases, there are several organisms present at the same time, making the choice of a proper antibiotic quite difficult. Penicillin in one of its forms is often the antibiotic of choice. Treatment with antibiotics may continue for as long as four to six weeks, and often the kind of antibiotic will be changed as the treatment progresses. The development of new and very affective antibiotics have greatly improved the prognosis of this infectious disease, with complete cures a general rule. However, when it becomes a chronic condition, and succeeds in killing fragments of bone tissue (called sequestra), surgery is needed to remove the dead tissue and help in advancing the treatment. ---------------- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.