Chronic osteomyelitis due to corynebacteria in a postcraniotomy bone flap

Muscle-flap salvage of prosthetic dural repair

OBJECTIVE

A critical element in the prevention of wound and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) infections after craniotomies is the prevention of postprocedural CSF leaks. The salvage of infected prosthetic dural material in this milieu is not adequately addressed in the literature and is the subject of this study.

METHODS

We performed a 7-year retrospective review of the Yale-New Haven Hospital patient records to identify successful salvage strategies in patients with relentless CSF leaks. Twenty data points were collected, including original diagnosis, nature of the procedure, presence of dural graft, definitive treatment of the leak, culture results and pre- and postoperative antibiotics.

RESULTS

Thirteen patients experienced post-craniotomy CSF leaks that required surgical intervention. The most common cause of the original craniotomy (54% of patients) was an oncological aetiology, followed by ruptured aneurysms or haemorrhage in 31% of the patients. Of the 13 patients experiencing CSF leaks, 76% involved the posterior skull base, and therefore a trapezius muscle flap was used in 38% of the cases. The Bovine pericardial graft (10 our of 13), a nonautologous graft, was left intact, and CSF drainage procedures were employed in most patients Growth of gram-positive organisms on cultures was found in 76% of the cases. The most frequent offenders were Staphylococcus aureus (five of the 13), coagulase-negative staphylococcal species (two out of 13), and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (two out of 13). Vancomycin was administered in all cases preoperatively. All 13 patients who underwent open surgery for CSF leak had complete resolution of the leak without need for additional reconstructive surgical intervention.

CONCLUSION

Comprehensive method of treating CSF leaks in conjunction with the salvage of bovine pericardial dural grafts may be a viable clinical option.

Polymicrobial skull osteomyelitis: a rare complication of subdural hematoma evacuation

BACKGROUND

Osteomyelitis of the skull (SO) is a rare condition. The infection may complicate community-acquired sinusitis, otitis, or mastoiditis, in which case, the skull base is affected most commonly. The flora typically seen in these conditions, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, tends also to be responsible for the SO. Osteomyelitis also may follow neurosurgical procedures that breach the skull, in which case, the pathogens frequently are typical cutaneous flora such as Staphylococcus aureus or coagulase-negative staphylococci.

METHODS

A case report of post-neurosurgical SO and a review of the relevant English-language literature.

RESULTS

We report a delayed presentation of SO after craniotomy for the evacuation of a chronic subdural hematoma. Cranial tissue cultures grew Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium spp., and Escherichia coli.

CONCLUSIONS

The isolation of Escherichia coli as an infecting organism in SO has been reported rarely and may reflect a unique pathogenesis.

Effect of bone biopsy in guiding antimicrobial therapy for osteomyelitis complicating open wounds

BACKGROUND

Osteomyelitis associated with infected overlying wounds represents a difficult diagnostic and therapeutic problem; bone biopsies can be done during debridement of the overlying wounds, but it is unclear how often the results of these bone cultures actually affect subsequent antibiotic decisions. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the usefulness of bone biopsies in guiding antibiotic therapy for this type of osteomyelitis.

METHODS

Culture results of 44 bone biopsies taken during surgical debridement in 41 patients over the period from June 1994 to August 1998 were compared with those from the overlying wounds to determine whether the data affected the subsequent choice of antibiotics. The study design was that of a retrospective chart review in which the standard operative and microbiological procedures in place at the Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center were used.

RESULTS

Sixty-one wound and 55 bone isolates were obtained during this study. Thirty-one isolates were found in bone, but not the overlying wound; diphtheroids were the most common organism obtained in this fashion. Correlation between wound and bone isolates was generally poor. Antibiotics were subsequently changed in 20 of the 44 cases after results of the bone biopsy became known, with the bone isolates already being covered in 10 cases and the bone biopsy results ignored in 14 cases.

CONCLUSION

Because bone biopsy results seem to aid in tailoring antibiotic therapy in almost half the cases when bone is sampled during wound debridement surgery, this technique may be very helpful in certain cases and should be regularly undertaken when these procedures are carried out.

A case of costochondral abscess due to Corynebacterium minutissimum in an HIV-infected patient

Corynebacterium minutissimum, known as the causative agent of erythrasma, has recently been reported as a clinically significant pathogen in the immunocompromised host. We report for the first time the possible involvement of a multidrug-resistant C. minutissimum strain in a costochondral abscess occurring in an HIV-infected patient.