Highly resistant bacterial osteomyelitis in Somalia.

Chronic osteomyelitis is a major health problem in the aftermath of the conflict in Somalia. We studied the microbiology of chronic osteomyelitis among 30 patients in a large hospital in Mogadishu. Gram-negative bacteria were isolated from 77% of patients; most of these isolates were highly resistant to standard antibiotic agents but all were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, an oral fluoroquinolone antibiotic. Ciprofloxacin may prove useful in the management of chronic osteomyelitis due to highly resistant gram-negative bacteria.