title: Osteomyelitis in spinal cord injury.
abstract: In 29 of 154 spinal cord injured (SCI) persons evaluated consecutively over a two-year period, osteomyelitis was the cause of the SCI in 2, the result of the sequelae of SCI in 20, associated with the trauma that produced the SCI in 6, and was unrelated to the SCI in 1 of the 29. Osteomyelitis, caused by anaerobic bacteria and gram-negative rods, was most often diagnosed beneath pressure sores, and was often difficult to diagnose without a bone biopsy because many other conditions in these patients can be associated with abnormal roentgenograms, nuclear imaging studies, or both. Treatment often required bone cultures to identify the causative organisms and to select the optimal antimicrobial regimen, and surgery was required in the majority of these patients to effect a cure. The presence of osteomyelitis should be considered in every patient with a wound that does not heal or who has spinal cord compression of unknown cause.
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections; D001706:Biopsy; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000150:complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology