What is the difference between acute and subacute osteomyelitis?
Acute osteomyelitis develops within two weeks after disease onset, subacute osteomyelitis within one to several months and chronic osteomyelitis after a few months. Because osteomyelitis is a complex disease state, various classification systems have emerged beyond the general categories of acute, subacute and chronic.
What is subacute osteomyelitis?
Subacute osteomyelitis is a chronic low-grade infection of bone characterized by a lack of systemic manifestations. The onset is insidious. Pain is the most common symptom, and has usually been present for several months before the initial evaluation.
What are the stages of osteomyelitis?
Osteomyelitis can be classified by duration (acute or chronic), pathogenesis (trauma, contiguous spread, hematogenous, surgical), site, extent, or type of patient.
What are the two types of osteomyelitis?
Traditionally, osteomyelitis is a bone infection that has been classified into three categories: (1) a bone infection that has spread through the blood stream (Hematogenous osteomyelitis) (2) osteomyelitis caused by bacteria that gain access to bone directly from an adjacent focus of infection (seen with trauma or …
How serious is chronic osteomyelitis?
Osteomyelitis is a serious condition that requires immediate treatment. Most bone infections go away when you take antibiotics. Be sure to take all your prescribed medication even if you start feeling better.
When does acute osteomyelitis become chronic?
Acute osteomyelitis typically refers to an infection of less than 1 month’s duration, whereas chronic osteomyelitis refers to infection that lasts longer than 4 weeks.
What does osteomyelitis look like on xray?
Plain radiographic findings in acute or subacute osteomyelitis are deep soft tissue swelling, a periosteal reaction, cortical irregularity, and demineralization.
Description: Subacute osteomyelitis, defined by King and Mayo as an osseous infection with a duration of more than two weeks without acute symptomatology, is a less common entity than acute hematogenous osteomyelitis. It often presents with prolonged symptoms, typically bone pain and radiographic changes, without systemic signs or symptoms.
Which radiographic findings are characteristic of subacute osteomyelitis?
Because subacute osteomyelitis has such characteristic features on normal radiographic examination, bone scanning is seldom indicated unless the diagnosis is unclear and a bone scan is performed as part of a tumor workup. Also, bone scanning might be of help in delineating the rarely occurring multifocal subacute osteomyelitis.
What is the pathophysiology of chronic osteomyelitis?
Chronic osteomyelitis represents a form of osteomyelitis and is a progressive inflammatory process resulting in bone destruction and sequestrum formation. It may present as recurrent or intermittent disease. It is a result of osteonecrosis caused by disruption of intraosseous and periosteal blood supply during the acute stage of the disease.
How is acute osteomyelitis (OA) recognized?
Acute osteomyelitis is recognized by elevation of the periosteum by a hypoechoic layer of purulent material. In chronic osteomyelitis, US can also be used to assess involvement of the adjacent soft tissues.