Osteomyelitis refers to an infection that occurs inside a bone. Bacteria, fungi or viruses cause the infection. Osteomyelitis can occur from a variety of ways, including infected wounds, fractures, trauma and from an infection that spreads from another source inside the body. Antibiotics generally treat the infection effectively, but complications can develop even with aggressive treatment.
Septic Arthritis
According to Medline Plus, the treatment goal for osteomyelitis includes eliminating the infection and preventing the infection from getting worse. Antibiotics usually destroy the organism that's causing the infection. However, in some cases, the infection within the bone can spread into a nearby joint, causing septic arthritis, reports MayoClinic.com. Septic arthritis occurs when the infectious organism that caused the bone infection invades the joint closest to the affected bone and causes infection and inflammation of that joint.
Growth Delay
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Standford reports that osteomyelitis can occur in children of any age but happens more commonly in premature infants and babies born with complications. Children who have osteomyelitis may experience a growth delay because osteomyelitis occurs in the long bones of the arms and legs. Softer areas called growth plates, enclose each end of the long bones located in the arms and legs, states MayoClinic.com. The infection commonly develops in these softer areas of the bone, and when the infection occurs there, it causes a delay in bone growth.
Skin Cancer
People who have osteomyelitis may develop an open sore in the skin that surrounds the infected bone. MayoClinic.com mentions that people who experience pus draining from the open sore have a higher risk of developing squamous cell skin cancer in that area than those who don't develop pus drainage.
Bone Death
An infection inside the bone produces pus and the pus may cause an abscess to develop within the bone. Medline Plus explains that the formation of an abscess can prevent the bone from getting adequate blood supply. Osteonecrosis, or bone death, occurs from insufficient blood circulation to the bone, notes MayoClinic.com.
Amputation
Osteomyelitis can result in amputation of the infected limb because the infection causes very destructive damage to the bone, surrounding muscles, tendons and blood vessels, states Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Standford. According to MayoClinic.com, surgery can remove small sections of a dead bone, but larger sections of dead bone often require amputation. People who develop osteomyelitis and have existing medical conditions such as diabetes, or those who have a condition that causes poor circulation, often require amputation of the infected bone as well, notes Medline Plus.
