The antibiotic use in osteomyelitis infection: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: Osteomyelitis is a serious infection of the bone. One of the therapies for osteomyelitis is antibiotic treatment. Antibiotic treatment has evolved substantially, but bone infections are still a challenge. Antimicrobial therapy is also difficult, caused by antibiotic-resistant organisms. Therefore, a systematic review is needed to assess antibiotic use in osteomyelitis infection. METHODS: Articles were searched using PubMed with keywords “antibiotics,” “osteomyelitis,” and its combination. The authors used 5 years publication date and English language to select the appropriate journal. RESULTS: The author identified 13 relevant articles with antibiotics use in osteomyelitis. All of the cases were about chronic osteomyelitis and osteomyelitis in diabetic foot ulcers. Osteomyelitis in other sites of long bones needs longer duration treatment than long bone osteomyelitis. In acute osteomyelitis in children, antibiotic treatment can switch from IV to oral antibiotics. Furthermore, chronic osteomyelitis needs longer treatment to resolve than acute osteomyelitis. CONCLUSION: Antibiotics still mainstay treatment with surgery for osteomyelitis treatment. With acute, children, and long bone only need shorter treatment than chronic, adult, and non-long bone osteomyelitis.