Cultures from the infection site were twice as likely as blood cultures to identify the causative organism, and identification of the causative pathogen was associated with discharge on a single oral antibiotic.
Treatment of osteomyelitis and septic arthritis is best accomplished when the pathogen is identified, but blood cultures do not always identify a causative organism. To examine the influence of culture results on management and outcomes after discharge, investigators in Colorado retrospectively reviewed medical records of 68 otherwise healthy children and adolescents (age range, 4 months–20 years) with uncomplicated bone or joint infections. Cultures were taken within 24 hours of starting inpatient intravenous (IV) antibiotic treatment.
Overall, 26% of patients had cultures from blood only, 53% had cultures from both blood and the infection site, and 21% had cultures from the infection site only. Of the 69% of patients with an identified pat…