Table of Contents
Prevention
Diagnosis
- Question 1: What are the essential tests that need to be done in pediatric patients with joint infections?
- Question 2: Are there conditions where the ESR and other blood tests are unreliable for diagnosis of pediatric musculoskeletal infections?
- Question 3: For pediatric patients with suspected septic arthritis, does the clinical criteria override inconclusive laboratory tests?
- Question 4: Is there a role for arthrocentesis (joint puncture) of an infected joint in a pediatric patient?
- Question 5: Is there a role for percutaneous bone sampling (biopsy) for microbiological diagnosis of septic arthritis/osteomyelitis? If so, when should this be performed?
- Question 6: Is there any role for PCR or molecular testing in pediatric musculoskeletal infection (PMSI)?
- Question 7: How can we differentiate between sickle cell crisis and septic arthritis/osteomyelitis?
Treatment
- Question 1: What are the indications for surgical intervention in cases of osteomyelitis/septic arthritis? How should treatment progress and resolution be monitored?
- Question 2: How radical should surgery be for osteomyelitis/septic arthritis?
- Question 3: Is there a role for arthroscopic washout in children with septic arthritis?
- Question 4: Should the length of antibiotic usage be different for a primary septic arthritis versus osteomyelitis?
- Question 5: Do steroids have a chondroprotective effect in children with septic arthritis?
- Question 6: What is the optimal management of septic arthritis/osteomyelitis caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus?
- Question 7: What is the best management for tuberculosis of the musculoskeletal system in children?
- Question 8: What is the role of host gene expression and severity of acute osteoarticular infection in children; especially MRSA infection?