Faculty Collaboration Database

Photopenic bone scan osteomyelitis: a clinical perspective. J Pediatr Orthop 1999;19(6):695-8

Date

11/26/1999

Pubmed ID

10573334

DOI

10.1097/00004694-199911000-00001

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0032738087 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   33 Citations

Abstract

Eighty-one pediatric patients had nuclear bone-imaging studies confirmatory of osteomyelitis during the past 10 years. Seven (8.6%) of 81 had "cold" osteomyelitis. These seven patients were all toxic [mean temperature (T), 39.9 degrees C; heart rate (HR), 145 beats/min], all had markedly elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rates (mean ESR, 76 mm/h), and six of seven had both confirmatory bone and blood cultures. All patients required surgical intervention. The average length of hospital stay for these seven patients was 32 days (range, 8-65 days). A control group of matched patients with "hot" osteomyelitis was constructed for statistical evaluation. This analysis confirmed significantly increased temperature, resting pulse rate, ESR, length of hospital stay, and rate of surgical intervention in patients with cold versus hot osteomyelitis. Patients with osteomyelitis presenting as a cold defect on bone imaging appeared to have a more aggressive type of bone infection, often requiring aggressive medical and surgical intervention adequately to control this infectious process.

Author List

Pennington WT, Mott MP, Thometz JG, Sty JR, Metz D

Author

John G. Thometz MD Professor in the Orthopaedic Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Bone and Bones
Case-Control Studies
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Haemophilus Infections
Humans
Length of Stay
Male
Osteomyelitis
Prognosis
Radionuclide Imaging
Reference Values
Retrospective Studies
Sensitivity and Specificity
Staphylococcal Infections
Wisconsin