[Chronic posttraumatic osteomyelitis. Clinical aspects and bacteriology]

Abstract

50 patients suffering from chronic posttraumatic osteomyelitis were examined. In 66% an open fracture, caused either by traffic or industrial accidents was the primary reason for hospitalization. The most frequent pathogenic bacterium was staphylococcus aureus: 80% of the patients suffered from staphylococcal infections, mostly, however, in mixed culture with pseudomonas aeruginosa or clebsiella. Whereas the peripheral leukocyte count and the serum electrophoresis showed abnormal values only in a small percentage of the patients, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate proved to be a reliable index of the intensity of chronic infection.