Brucellosis of the spine with a synchronous Staphylococcus aureus pyogenic elbow infection

G. J. Velan, J. Leitner, Y. Folman, R. Gepstein

March 2005, Volume 6, Issue 4, pp 284 - 285 Case Report Read Full Article

First Online: 03 March 2005

Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis and pyogenic arthritis has a different pattern in the elderly than in the young. The axial skeleton is the most frequent site of infection and treatment is usually by intravenous antibiotics. We report a case ofStaph. aureus septic arthritis of the elbow with concomitant osteomyelitis of the spine that was thought to be due toStaph. aureus, but culture of debrided material from the lesion grewBrucella in culture. We suggest that in the elderly it is advisable to obtain a tissue culture diagnosis and not to instigate therapy based on positive blood cultures or a concomitant infection.

Read Full Article