Osteomyelitis is inflammation of the medullary cavity, cortex and periosteum of bone, nearly always because of infection. In dogs it is usually bacterial and usually follows an open fracture, a bite or orthopedic surgery, especially when implants are present; blood-borne infection and fungal disease are less common. Once dead bone or a loose implant is colonized, antimicrobials alone rarely cure it, so the case is as much surgical as medical.
Key facts
Osteomyelitis at a glance- Species and system: dog (also cats); musculoskeletal.
- Routes: direct trauma (open fractures, bites, gunshot), iatrogenic (after surgery) and hematogenous (rare in adult dogs; young or immunocompromised patients most at risk).
- Cause: Staphylococcus spp. in about half of cases; also streptococci, E. coli, Proteus, Pasteurella, Pseudomonas, anaerobes, Brucella canis; regional fungi.
- Classic presentation: lameness, pain, swelling and a draining tract weeks after fracture repair, with lysis, sequestra and loose implants on radiographs.
- Diagnosis: radiographs, then culture of deep tissue, bone or implant (not a surface swab).
- Treatment: culture-guided antimicrobials plus removal of dead bone and loose implants.
- Zoonotic note: Brucella canis can infect people (CDC); the fungi are acquired from the environment, and Merck states that people do not catch blastomycosis from animals.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 6 tables, 3 figures, 3 self-test questions and 23 references, available to NAVLE members.
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