Comparision of the results of sinus track culture and bone culture in chronic osteomyelitis

SUMMARYCOMPARISION OF THE RESULT OF SINUS TRACK CULTURE AND BONECULTURE IN CHRON C OSTEOMYELITISMehmet UluğDepartment of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases,Dicle University Medical Faculty, DiyarbakirPurpose: The infection of bone that contains bone marrow called osteomyelitis, whichwas caused by different microorganisms. In this study, we aimed to determine the diagnosticvalue and accuracy of cultures of material from a sinus track compared with those of culturesof bone specimens have been controversial.Material and Method: Prospective study conducted at Hospital University of Dicle, a1090-bed university based hospital located in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Between May 2005 andSeptember 2006 sinus track cultures were compared with those of bone cultures from 43patients with chronic osteomyelitis.Results: The patients? mean age was 30,6 ± 3,6 year, and 29 (67%) were male and 14(33%) were female. Their mean ESR, CRP and WBC were found 82,7 mm/hour ± 4.4, 122,4mg/dl ± 11, 11099,3/mm3 ± 640 respectively. The high level of CRP and ESH weredetermined meaningful, but WBC number was not meaningful by statistically. Organismsisolated from bone cultures were staphylococcus 72,5% (29/40), Escherichia coli 10% (4/40),Pseudomonas aeruginosa 10% (4/40), Proteus mirabilis 7,5% (3/40) respectively. Cultures ofsinus track and bone specimens gave identical results in 62,7% of patients, with slightly betterconcordance in chronic osteomyelitis caused by staphylococcus 78% than by all otherbacterial species.Conclusion: The correlation between sinus track and bone cultures was 37,3%. Thatmeans, the failure in the treatment at four patients in 10.The value of bone culture in thetherapy of osteomyelitis must be emphasised; it is the only reliable means of determining theresponsible agent, and then basing antibiotic therapy on this.