Osteomyelitis

Question 1

What is the definition of osteomyelitis?

Answer 1

Inflammation of bone & marrow due to infection

Question 2

What are 2 ways that infection can spread to bone, and what age groups do they normally affect?

Answer 2

1. Exogenous spread: from an open wound – common in adults
2. Hematogenous spread: from infected joint/soft tissue to marrow rich bones – most common in children

Question 3

What are 2 common sites for osteomyelitis?

Answer 3

1. Metaphyses of long bones
2. Vertebrae

Question 4

After microorganisms enter bone, what is the term for pus formation?

Answer 4

Suppuration

Question 5

What is the result of pus formation at the site of infection in bone?

Answer 5

Thrombosis of local blood vessels, leading to ischemic necrosis

Question 6

What is the term for a portion of dead bone that is sealed off from healthy tissue through fibrosis, similar to a granuloma?

Answer 6

Sequestrum

Question 7

What is the term for viable new bone that forms around the area of necrotic bone?

Answer 7

Involucrum

Question 8

What is the term for an epithelial-lined cavity in the affected bone that drains the pus-filled region?

Answer 8

Cloaca

Question 9

What are 4 complications that can result from osteomyelitis?

Answer 9

1. Septicemia
2. Arthritis
3. Pathological fracture
4. Squamous cell carcinoma

Question 10

Why is treatment challenging for osteomyelitis?

Answer 10

Once the infection is inside of bone, it is difficult to access with antibiotics

Question 11

Why may hyperbaric oxygen therapy be used for osteomyelitis?

Answer 11

For anaerobic bacteria

Question 12

How is tuberculous osteomyelitis different from regular osteomyelitis?

Answer 12

Lesions rarely sequester, so easily invades surrounding joints and intervertebral discs, causing caseous necrosis

Question 13

What is Pott’s disease?

Answer 13

Tuberculous osteomyelitis of the spine