[Oral antibiotic therapy in the adult bacterial osteomyelitis: results after two years of follow-up].

BACKGROUND

Oral antibiotic therapy achieves clinical and bacteriological cure of the adult bacterial osteomyelitis associated or not to orthopedic implant.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We carried out a prospective study, with follow-up at 24 months, of patients with adult bacterial osteomyelitis, that were initially treated with parenteral antibiotic therapy for a week, followed with oral antibiotic therapy during 2 to 6 months, depending on the absence or presence or orthopedic implant, respectively.

RESULTS

37 patients presented 44 episodes of adult bacterial osteomyelitis, 34 of them in presence of orthopedic implant. The most frequent causative microorganism was S. aureus (44%), followed by coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (29%). The oral antibiotic therapy most frequently employed was the combination cotrimoxazole-rifampin, followed by ciprofloxacin-rifampin. The clinical and bacteriologic cure were 85%, 82% in the group with orthopedic implant. 82% required surgical intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

The oral antibiotic therapy, preceded by a short parenteral therapy, can get high rates of clinical and bacteriological cure in the adult's bacterial osteomyelitis.