Bone infections, also known as osteomyelitis, can be either short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic).
If you have an open wound or infected tissue nearby, the bacteria can travel through your bloodstream and eventually colonize your bone, a condition known as osteomyelitis.
The bone marrow and the outer layers of bone are typically affected by a bacterial infection known as osteomyelitis.
Osteomyelitis is typically caused by Staphylococcus aureus, a strain of staph bacterium. Common types of infections caused by staphylococci bacteria include acne and meningitis.
The soft tissue inside your bones, known as bone marrow, swells up and produces severe pain. If the acute form of osteomyelitis is not entirely mitigated by treatment, it might progress to the chronic stage, which can occur either immediately after the acute phase or over time.
In some circumstances, long-term osteomyelitis might last for several years. When antibiotics and surgery fail to treat a bone infection, the illness is said to be “refractory.”
A lack of therapy for this bone infection might lead to the eventual death of the affected bone due to the inflammation that cuts off the bone from the blood supply.
It is possible for bone to become infected in a number of different ways, despite the fact that bone is generally resistant to bacterial colonization.
Bone infections can arise when the bony structure is compromised, as can happen as a result of trauma, surgery, the presence of foreign bodies, or the implantation of a prosthesis.
Infected prosthetic joints often have bacteria growing in biofilm, which is resistant to antibiotics and the body’s immune response.
Osteomyelitis, or bone infection, can affect anyone. However, the following factors increase a person’s likelihood of developing it:
- a recently fractured bone
- a current wound or recently been injured
- a screw in a bone or a prosthetic hip
- recently undergone bone surgery
- a compromised immune system due to a recent illness or as a side effect of chemotherapy
- had osteomyelitis in the past
- diabetes, especially when accompanied by a foot ulcer
- a blood infection that affects the bone.
Bone infections have been documented in ancient animal fossils, suggesting that this illness has been there for quite some time.
Before Nelaton coined the term “osteomyelitis” in 1844, people used a variety of other words to describe infected bone.
Surgery, including extensive debridement, saucerization, and wound packing, was the mainstay of osteomyelitis management prior to the arrival of penicillin in the 1940s.
High mortality rates after surgery are attributed to sepsis because the afflicted area is left to heal by secondary intention.
Antibiotics have led to a significant reduction in the mortality rate from osteomyelitis, especially staphylococcal osteomyelitis.
Osteomyelitis affects merely 2 of every 10,000 people. Both toddlers and adults are vulnerable to the condition’s symptoms.
The chance of developing osteomyelitis increases in those who have compromised immune systems due to illness or lifestyle choices.
