Pseudomonas aeruginosa bone and joint infection in drug abusers.

Thirty-nine sites of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bone and joint infection in thirty-five intravenous drug abusers were treated over a four-year period. Early diagnosis was based on a history of drug abuse and demonstration of the site of infection by a technetium bone scan. Most patients responded to long-term therapy with intravenous aminoglycoside and carbenicillin. Extensive early surgical procedures were rarely indicated except in patients with infection of a large synovial joint.