title: Acute osteomyelitis in Nigerians with sickle cell disease.
abstract: Acute osteomyelitis comprised 78 (29.3%) of the 266 major skeletal complications seen in 207 patients with sickle cell disease in a five and a half year period. Forty eight (61.5%) of the 78 patients were under the age of 15 years, and the mean age at onset was 12 years (range 9 months to 50 years). Osteomyelitis was often multifocal (in 42% of the cases) and associated with some life threatening disorders. Salmonella accounted for 50% of the 36 organisms isolated from 32 patients with bacteriologically confirmed diagnosis. The 'best guess' antibiotic was a combination of chloramphenicol and cloxacillin. Medical treatment alone proved adequate in most cases. No deaths resulted, but 55% of the patients developed serious complications due partly to the severity of the disease and also to infection involving the epiphyses and joints.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000150:complications*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002701:Chloramphenicol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003023:Cloxacillin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D002701:Chloramphenicol; D003023:Cloxacillin