What is it about ?
Osteomyelitis and septic arthritis
- When bone (bone marrow) of a child becomes infected, we are talking aboutosteomyelitis.
- When a joint an arm or a leg of a child becomes infected, we speak ofseptic arthritis.
Osteomyelitis and septic arthritis are serious infectious diseases. They are caused by bacteria.
Causes
The bacteria most often originate from an infection elsewhere in the body. They reach the bone or joint through the blood. The most common bacteria that cause infectious diseases are:
- Staphylococcus aureus (especially in osteomyelitis);
- pneumococci;
- group A streptococci;
- Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) (in unvaccinated children).
The basic infant immunization program includes a vaccine against pneumococci and Hib.
What is their frequency?
Fortunately, these infections are very rare in Belgium. They are twice as common in boys than in girls.
How to recognize them?
Children who have an infection of the bones or joints caused by bacteria have a characteristic combination of the following symptoms:
- fever ;
- sudden swelling;
- redness;
- heat ;
- pain in an arm or leg.
In young children, the symptoms are sometimes not so obvious. The child can:
- be irritable;
- cry a lot;
- handle an arm or leg with care, or stop using it at all;
- have less appetite;
- look woozy.
The child may develop the following complications:
- (progression to) chronic osteomyelitis;
- irreparable damage to the cartilage of the joint;
- spontaneous fractures.
A child treated on time usually makes a full recovery.
How is the diagnosis made?
The doctor suspects an infection based on the symptoms. He takes a blood sample during a flare-up. fever. This is usually done in the hospital. He has the blood tested for inflammation.
Blood culture
The blood is cultured, i.e. the laboratory cultivates the germ (bacteria) responsible for the disease. Sometimes multiple cultures are needed to find the bacteria that causes the infectious disease.
What can you do ?
- Your child has fever and a swollen arm or leg? See the general practitioner as soon as possible.
- Do not let your child rest on the leg or put their arm in a sling.
What can your doctor do?
A child who has a bone infection (osteomyelitis) or a joint infection (septic arthritis) is given high doses of antibiotics. The first 2 to 4 days, these are given as an infusion in the hospital. Then the child can switch to syrup or tablets.
A child treated on time usually makes a full recovery.
Source
Foreign clinical practice guide ‘Osteomyelitis and septic arthritis in children’ (2012), updated on 20.01.2017 and adapted to the Belgian context on 28.05.2019 – www.ebpnet.be