Effective treatment with interferon-alpha in chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis.

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is a rare disease of unknown etiology characterized by multiple osteomyelitic changes in the predominantly metaphysial regions of long bones. It was first described by Giedon et al. in 1972. Cultures for all known microorganisms are negative. Pain is the most common symptom, and sometimes soft tissue swelling is present. Patients are usually treated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or corticosteroids and respond, at least partly, to these treatments. CRMO is most commonly seen in children and is in the majority of cases self-limiting but has a protracted course of several years. Some patients have a more prolonged disease period, as in the patient reported here. Treatment with corticosteroids in children has the risk of causing growth retardation as a potential adverse effect, and alternative treatments are of great interest. In the actual paper, a successful treatment with interferon-alpha 2b in a 34-year-old man with CRMO is presented.