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Osteomielitis - Overview

Definición:

Es una infección ósea aguda o crónica.

Causas:

La infección ósea puede ser causada por bacterias (más común) o por hongos (menos común).

  • La infección también puede propagarse a un hueso desde la piel, los músculos o tendones infectados próximos al hueso, como en la osteomielitis que ocurre bajo una úlcera (llaga) cutánea crónica.
  • La infección que causa la osteomielitis también puede empezar en otra parte del cuerpo y puede propagarse al hueso a través de la sangre.
  • Una lesión actual o pasada puede haber hecho que el hueso afectado sea más propenso a desarrollar la infección. Una infección ósea también puede empezar después de una cirugía del hueso, sobre todo si la intervención se realiza después de una lesión o si se colocan varillas o placas de metal en el hueso.

En los niños, por lo general, se afectan generalmente los huesos largos, mientras que en los adultos se afectan más comúnmente los pies, los huesos de la columna (vértebras) y las caderas (pelvis).

Los factores de riesgo son:

Las personas que se han sometido a una extirpación de bazo también se encuentran en mayor riesgo de padecer osteomielitis.

  • Reviewed last on: 5/25/2010
  • David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

Referencias

Espinoza LR. Infections of bursae, joints, and bones. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 293.

Gutierrez KM. Osteomyelitis. In: Long SS, ed. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2008:chap 80.

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