You have osteomyelitis, a bone infection caused by bacteria or other germs. You may have been in the hospital to treat a broken bone or to have some other surgery on your bones. Your surgeon may also have removed some infection from your bones or drained an abscess.
Your doctor will ask you to take medicines called antibiotics at home to kill the infection in your bone. At first, you will probably need antibiotics given into a vein in your arm, chest, or neck. At some point, your doctor may switch you to antibiotic pills.
While you are taking antibiotics, your health care provider may check your blood for signs of toxicity from the medicine.
You probably need to take this medicine for at least 3 - 6 weeks. Sometimes, you will need to take it for several months.
If you are getting antibiotics through a vein in your arm, chest, or neck:
You may need to store some of the medicine at home. Be sure to do it the way your nurse or doctor told you to.
You must learn how to keep the area where your IV is clean and dry. You also need to watch for signs of infection (such as redness, swelling, fever, or chills).
Make sure you give yourself the medicine at the right time. Do NOT stop taking antibiotics when you begin to feel better. If you do not take all of your medicine, or take it at the wrong time, the germs may become harder to treat. The infection may come back.
If you had surgery on your bone, you may need to wear a splint, brace, or sling to protect your bone. Your doctor or nurse will tell you whether you can walk on your leg or use your arm. Follow what your health care provider says you can and cannot do. If you do too much before the infection is gone, your bones can break.
If you have diabetes, it is very important to keep your blood sugar under control. See also: Managing your blood sugar
Call your doctor or nurse if:
Bone infection - discharge
Berbari EF, Steckelberg JM, Osmon DR. Osteomyelitis. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, eds. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s Principles and Practice of Infectious Disease. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2009:chap 103.
Tice AD, Rehm SJ, Dalovisio JR, et al. Practice guidelines for outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy. IDSA guidelines. Clin Infect Dis. 2004 Jun 15;38(12):1651-72.
Updated by: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. 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.
MedlinePlus Topics
Images
Read More
Patient Instructions
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2012, A.D.A.M., Inc. Duplication for commercial use must be authorized in writing by ADAM Health Solutions.