Lack of microbiological concordance between bone and non-bone specimens in chronic osteomyelitis : an observational study

ABSTRACT: Background Prognosis of chronic osteomyelitis depends heavily on proper identification and treatment of the bone-infecting organism. Current knowledge on selecting the best specimen for culture is confusing, and many consider that non-bone specimens are suitable to replace bone cultures. This paper compares the microbiology of non-bone specimens with bone cultures, taking the last as the diagnostic gold standard. Methods Retrospective observational analysis of 50 patients with bacterial chronic osteomyelitis in a 750-bed University-based hospital. Results Concordance between both specimens for all etiologic agents was 28%, for Staphylococcus aureus 38%, and for organisms other than S. aureus 19%. The culture of non-bone specimens to identify the causative organisms in chronic osteomyelitis produced 52% false negatives and 36% false positives when compared against bone cultures. Conclusions Diagnosis and therapy of chronic osteomyelitis cannot be guided by cultures of non-bone specimens because their microbiology is substantially different to the microbiology of the bone.

• Autores: Zuluaga Salazar, Andrés Felipe; Galvis Franco, Wilson de Jesús; Jaimes Barragán, Fabián Alberto; Vesga Meneses, Omar
• Tipo de recurso: Article of investigation
• Fecha de publicación: 2002
• Institución: Universidad de Antioquia
• Repositorio: Repositorio UdeA
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:bibliotecadigital.udea.edu.co:10495/25762
• Acceso en línea: http://hdl.handle.net/10495/25762
• Palabra clave: Osteomielitis; Osteomyelitis; Huesos; Bone and Bones; Bacterias Gramnegativas; Gram-Negative Bacteria; Infecciones por Bacterias Grampositivas; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections; Infecciones de los Tejidos Blandos; Soft Tissue Infections
• Rights: openAccess
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/co/