Osteomyelitis?

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My husband was injured at work approx. a year ago and was treated for a staph infection that was caused by a dirty knife that he barely nipped him self in the knee with. Doctors did a nuclear bone scan and recommened a MRI to rule out possibililiy of OSTEOMYELITIS. The MRI was never referred out and coincidently my husband has now been diagnosed with rhematoid arthritis and is on several meds. It appears to me that the condition is worsening even with the meds. I would like anyones opinion if it is possible he was misdianosed with Rhematoid arthrits and if it could actually be realted to that injury at work and what I should do to pursue this. He is in constant pain and I just want to have the condition treated before its too late.
If this is what he has would it spread to other bones?
He has had ongoing treatment since the accident occured and he had many fevers, fatigue, and weight loss.
His test results after the nuclear bone scan were ok however the dr. recommended a MRI to rule out ostemyelitis. The referral was never made.
all disease modifying antirheumatoid drugs may take some time to act maybe even months because it is a chronic disorder
until then religiously take medicines ...
and if something unusual occurs report to doc
pain relieving drugs should be taken to relieve pain in this period
rheumatoid disorder has a characteristic way of affecting bones in body
* Morning stiffness of >1 hour most mornings for at least 6 weeks.
* Arthritis joint swelling+pain and soft-tissue swelling of >3 of 14 joints/joint groups
* Arthritis of hand joints
* Symmetric (both limbs together)arthritis
* Subcutaneous (below skin)nodules in specific places
* Rheumatoid factor a blood test at a level above the 95th percentile
* Radiological x ray changes suggestive of joint erosion

At least four criteria have to be met for classification as RA.
. one of the criteria is the presence of bone erosion on X-Ray. Prevention of bone erosion is one of the main aims of treatment because it is generally irreversible. To wait until all of the ACR criteria for rheumatoid arthritis are met may sometimes result in a worse outcome for the patient. Most patients and rheumatologists would agree that it would be better to treat the patient as early as possible and prevent bone erosion from occurring, even if this means treating patients who don't fulfill the ACR criteria.

so ur doc is diagnosing based on these ....and aim is to prevent crippling deformities and bone erosions
very unlikely that a osteomyelitis is not differentiated from ra
go with ur doc

can you give photos of ur husbands hands in a online site like flickr?no face just hands and joints affected will do  (+ info)

osteomyelitis?

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How easy is it for a 9 year old boy to get this and would it be from a previous injury? He has had to have surgery to fix this and I am worried.
Osteomyelitis is a bone infection. It is caused by an infection that happened in another part of the body but then traveled through the blood stream to infect a distant bone. So, your son's bone got it from an infection from somewhere else in the body...not close to that particular bone...but that bone was already weak due to a prior injury.

Osteomyelitis in children, usually affects the long bones but, in adults, it affects the spine and pelvis. Risk factors are recent trauma, diabetes, hemodialysis, intravenous drug abuse and people who have had their spleen removed.

To prevent any future ocurrences, be sure your son sees a doctor anytime he develops an infection. Treating the infection early will prevent it from worsening, entering the blood stream and possibly infecting a traumatized bone.  (+ info)

Is there a way to determine if Osteomyelitis is gone without bone biopsy?

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I recently went throught treatment for Osteomyelitis, during a surgery they ended up doing a bone biopsy and found out I had staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in the bone. I had around 10 weeks of IV meds. I want to know if this infection is gone, I've been told by the doctor they only way to truely find out is another bone biopsy, which means more surgery..
The definitive way to either rule in, or rule out, osteomyelitis is a bone infection.
If you can live with a little less accuracy, ask for a technetium bone scan.  (+ info)

How can you be absolutely certain you never had osteomyelitis?

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A few years ago I had a major infection and saw an infectious disease doctor who placed me on a pic catheter with a dosage of antibiotic. I had many surgeries to have bone scraped, a bone graft, multiple erosions, etc. but yet no one would tell me if I definitely had the condition known as osteomyelitis. Some paperwork even had the word crossed off after it was written in and I don't know by whom. It leaves me very concerned and upset that no one is willing to tell me the truth about my condition. Has anyone else out there had this type of experience?
Why would you assume that no one is willing to tell you the truth about your condition? Ask your physician directly.

Occassionally there are certain clinical critieria for which a patient's condition does not quite meet. Medicare/Medicaid cam be particular about making diagnoses. If you start assigning diagnoses that are too high level than what was proved, Medicare can actually charge your physician with fraud. So there are legal issues involved with making a diagnosis too. I have no basis to judge whether this was the case in your situation.

Bottom line, you are a few years out from having what sounds like a really tough go of it and you did well. What possible difference would it make now if you had the criteria for a specific diagnosis or not back then?  (+ info)

If i has Osteomyelitis would i be in pain? Posting also under disease?

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My step dad's doctors has a suspicion he has Osteomyelitis, but iwith my knowledge on this bone infection i would imagine him to be in pain. It is apparently behind the popliteal. Which considering that that is near a joint i would have though he would been aware of it.
He had a lump on the back of this ares for ages and then it rutured and the doctors pulled a foreign body out of which was diagnosed as being human bone. Thus indicative of Osteomyelitis.
He is obviously worried and is getting a bone scan on Friday and a cat scan
Can anyone give me a heads up?
Osteo is NOT often painful. Of course, there are exceptions.

For bone to get infected, there has to have been penetration from the outside to an area close to the bone at some time.
Depending on the patient, it may take a long time to progress.

Best of luck.  (+ info)

Has anyone suffered from Refractory Osteomyelitis of the Mandible?

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I had a debridment done of my mandible 4 yrs ago after contracting osteomyelitis. It all healed up well but now it is back and I am on antibiotics for it although the doctors are considering other treatments.
I had osteomyelitis as well, though mine was in my foot. I went to an infectious diseases specialist, who put me through a series of antibiotic treatments. Heavy antibiotics can take care of the infection, but it took a lot of time. The doctor informed me that it can reoccur at any point in life. Caught early enough, and treated well, antibiotics can take care of it, but the other options would involve removal of the infected bone in order to prevent the spread of dead tissue. The dead bone has to be removed, as it can cause further problems. There are forms of replacement bone, and depending on location of the infection, bone can be replaced. Mine, unfortunately, involves my foot, and the toe bones are irreplaceable. I hope that the antibiotics work for you, and am very sorry to hear that you are going through it.  (+ info)

What are the effects of chronic Osteomyelitis on contributing to other diseases?

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I am looking for reference material to support that chronic Osteomyelitis can make someone more susceptable to other diseases, such as an enlarged heart. My father suffered from Osteomyelitis for over 15 years before developing an enlarged heart, which ultimately lead to his death at the age of 47. When he died the VA denied my mom widow's benefits because they said the Osteomyelitis did not contribute to his death. I am looking for information to counter the VA's stand. I have always felt that the Osteomyelitis contributed to his death even though it wasn't a direct cause. I need something to back me up so my mom can get benefits.
The question arises is that what's the autopsy report. However if has died of septicemia i.e. high grade fever due to chronic osteomyelitis, and the causative organism were the same as those found in the bony lesion, she is entitled to widow's benefits.
Rember that Chronic osteomylitis, is mixture of several bacteria. You can easily sue the company for multiple damages, but your lawyer should be a doctor too.
Convey my profound regards to your mother,
Dr.Qutub  (+ info)

Can you still ahve osteomyelitis or sepsisand have normal blood work?

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i heard you could and you couldnt so please help anyone know what the real answer is state your SOURCE
if you took antibiotcs like a week before you got your blood drawn?can that make it look normal???or no that has nothing to do with it?
In medicine, never say never. If you are in the very early stages of an infection or the effects on your blood, such as an elevated white cell count, are depressed by a short course of antibiotics, you may get test results that fail to support a diagnosis.

Osteomyelitis -- see Diagnosis: http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec05/ch065/ch065b.html

Sepsis can be very difficult to diagnose, but you may expect elevated CRP and PCT, and an abnormal white cell count.  (+ info)

What is the worst outcome of Osteomyelitis when it is in the spinal cord?

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My mom's doctor just said she had it and i'm scared and i dont know
Now that they have diagnosed it, the antibiotics should take care of it and the worst should be behind you. Don't worry unless the doctor tell you to.  (+ info)

can you still ahve osteomyelitis or sepsisand have normal blood work?

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if you took antibiotcs like a week before you got your blood drawn?can that make it look normal???or no that has nothing to do with it?
I can tell you in my documented case that all my initial blood work came back negative, CBC, kem12 panel etc. It was not till 3 days after my blood culture was grown that I was positively diagnosed with sepsis. But I did have all the physical symptoms. My osteomyelitis was not discovered until I had a ct guided aspiration for a fluid collection on my spine and had osteomyelitis in my lilac crest. So for me it was suspected but the blood did not show it. I ended up at Cleveland Clinic to have the top part of my lilac crest removed and L5-S1 dibrided and a pic line with vanco. Now I had a recent spinal fusion and was fighting a MRSA infection at the time as well.  (+ info)

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