Osteomyelitis in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Neonatal osteomyelitis presents with few clinical signs despite multiple sites of involvement. Four cases of osteomyelitis due to Staphylococcus aureus or Candida albicans were encountered in a neonatal intensive care unit. Three were unsuspected clinically and were detected as incidental radiologic findings. The fourth presented with soft-tissue abscesses. Long bone metaphyses were most frequently affected. Other sites included iliac bones, clavicles, and spine. On follow-up the bones healed, but one patient was left with hip deformity secondary to destruction of the cartilaginous femoral heads and another patient developed obstructive hydrocephalus due to Candida ventriculitis. Complete skeletal survey is indicated in any infant with osteomyelitis at one site to seek additional silent areas of involvement.