Bacterial cultures from sinus track and bone in Nigerians with chronic osteomyelitis

Abstract

Chronic osteomyelitis of the long bones is common in the tropics, despite advances in antimicrobial therapy and surgical treatment. Attempts to isolate the causative pathogen are often done by surface swabs from the discharging sinuses and findings may differ from bone sampling isolates. This study aimed to establish the correlation between sinus and bone culture. A 2-year prospective study was under taken at Federal Medical Centre Owo, Nigeria, from May 2002 to April 2004. Of 25 patients, bacteria were cultured from 11(44%) sinus tracks and 7(28%) bone samples with only 45% concordance between the cultures. The isolation of a single organism especially Staphylococcus aureus from the bone correlated well with that of sinus track culture.


Malawi Medical Journal Vol. 17(2) 2005: 47-48