Abstract
Study design
Retrospective cohort study.
Objectives
To analyze characteristics and treatment of osteomyelitis (OM) in the treatment of grade IV pressure injury (PI) in patients with spinal cord injury/disorder (SCI/D) following the Basel Decubitus Concept.
Setting
Acute care and rehabilitation clinic specialized in SCI/D.
Methods
Patients with SCI/D were admitted for grade IV PI treatment between 1st January 2010 and 28th February 2015. Patients, SCI/D, and PI characteristics were collected from chart reviews. Descriptive statistics and differences between groups with and without OM were evaluated.
Results
In total, 117 patients (87 male, 30 female) with 130 PI grade IV were included. In 95 patients (81%), OM was diagnosed histologically. In 87 cases, more than one bacterial species was involved. Out of 49 different bacterial species, Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococus aureus were most frequently observed. Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and ciprofloxacin were the most frequently used out of 24 different antibiotics. Length of antibiotic treatment varied between <8 days and >91 days with 31 patients receiving antibiotics for about 8 weeks. Complications occurred in all groups of antibiotic duration. Having a paraplegia, no OM and sacral PI was associated with increased complication rates, but the number of patients did not allow comprehensive risk factor analysis.
Conclusion
Because the variety of patients concerning SCI/D, PI, and OM characteristics did not show a conclusive relation between length of antibiotic treatment and complication rates, the development of a subgroup specific treatment concept for PI in patients with SCI/D would be favorable to further optimize antibiotic treatment.
Similar content being viewed by others
Log in or create a free account to read this content
Gain free access to this article, as well as selected content from this journal and more on nature.com
or
Data availability
All data are stored with the corresponding author and can be asked directly (anke.scheel-sailer@paraplegie.ch).
References
National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel EPIAP (ed). Prevention and treatment of pressure injury: quick reference guide. In: Haesler E, editor. Cambridge Media: Osborne Park; Australia, 2019.
Wong D, Holtom P, Spellberg B. Osteomyelitis complicating sacral pressure ulcers: whether or not to treat with antibiotic therapy. Clin Infect Dis. 2019;68:338–42. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciy559.
Kaka AS, Beekmann SE, Gravely A, Filice GA, Polgreen PM, Johnson JR, et al. Diagnosis and Management of Osteomyelitis Associated With Stage 4 Pressure Ulcers: Report of a Query to the Emerging Infections Network of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Open forum Infect Dis. 2019;6:ofz406.
Larson DL, Hudak KA, Waring WP, Orr MR, Simonelic K. Protocol management of late-stage pressure ulcers: a 5-year retrospective study of 101 consecutive patients with 179 ulcers. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2012;129:897–904.
Tadiparthi S, Hartley A, Alzweri L, Mecci M, Siddiqui H. Improving outcomes following reconstruction of pressure sores in spinal injury patients: a multidisciplinary approach. J Plast Reconstr Aesthetic Surg. 2016;69:994–1002.
Rieger U, Scheufler O, Schmid D, Zweifel-Schlatter M, Kalbermatten D, Pierer G, et al. [Six treatment principles of the basle pressure sore concept]. Handchirurgie, Mikrochirurgie, plastische Chirurgie: Organ der Deutschsprachigen Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Handchirurgie: Organ der Deutschsprachigen Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Mikrochirurgie der Peripheren Nerven und Gefasse: Organ der Ver der Dtsch Plastischen Chirurgen. 2007;39:206–14.
Meier C, Boes S, Gemperli A, Gmünder HP, Koligi K, Metzger S, et al. Treatment and cost of pressure injury stage III or IV in four patients with spinal cord injury: the Basel Decubitus Concept. Spinal Cord Ser Cases. 2019;5:30–30.
Wettstein R, Tremp M, Baumberger M, Schaefer DJ, Kalbermatten DF. Local flap therapy for the treatment of pressure sore wounds. Int Wound J. 2015;12:572–6. https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.12166.
Lussi C, Frotzler A, Jenny A, Schaefer DJ, Kressig RW, Scheel-Sailer A, et al. Nutritional blood parameters and nutritional risk screening in patients with spinal cord injury and deep pressure ulcer—a retrospective chart analysis. Spinal Cord. 2018;56:168–75. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-017-0016-4.
Tran BNN, Chen AD, Kamali P, Singhal D, Lee BT, Fukudome EY, et al. National perioperative outcomes of flap coverage for pressure ulcers from 2005 to 2015 using American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Arch Plast Surg. 2018;45:418–24. https://doi.org/10.5999/aps.2018.00262.
Dudareva M, Ferguson J, Riley N, Stubbs D, Atkins B, McNally M, et al. Osteomyelitis of the Pelvic Bones: a Multidisciplinary Approach to Treatment. J Bone Jt Infect. 2017;2:184–93.
Tran BNN, Chen AD, Kamali P, Singhal D, Lee BT, Fukudome EY, et al. National perioperative outcomes of flap coverage for pressure ulcers from 2005 to 2015 using American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Arch Plast Surg. 2018;45:418–24.
Luscher NJ, de Roche R, Krupp S, Kuhn W, Zach GA. The Sensory Tensor Fasciae Latae Flap: a 9-Year Follow-Up. Ann Plast Surg. 1991;26:306–10. https://doi.org/10.1097/00000637-199104000-00004.
Roche Rd (ed). Störfall Dekubitus. Rehab Basel:Roland de Roche, Rehab Basel; 2012.
Kreutzträger M, Voss H, Scheel-Sailer A, Liebscher T. Outcome analyses of a multimodal treatment approach for deep pressure ulcers in spinal cord injuries: a retrospective cohort study. Spinal Cord. 2018;56:582–90. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-018-0065-3.
Marriott R, Rubayi S. Successful truncated osteomyelitis treatment for chronic osteomyelitis secondary to pressure ulcers in spinal cord injury patients. Ann Plast Surg. 2008;61:425–9.
Dana AN, Bauman WA. Bacteriology of pressure ulcers in individuals with spinal cord injury: What we know and what we should know. J Spinal Cord Med. 2015;38:147–60. https://doi.org/10.1179/2045772314Y.0000000234.
Hauptfleisch J, Meagher TM, Hughes RJ, Singh JP, Graham A, López de Heredia L, et al. Interobserver agreement of magnetic resonance imaging signs of osteomyelitis in pelvic pressure ulcers in patients with spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabilit. 2013;94:1107–11.
Rennert R, Golinko M, Yan A, Flattau A, Tomic-Canic M, Brem H, et al. Developing and evaluating outcomes of an evidence-based protocol for the treatment of osteomyelitis in Stage IV pressure ulcers: a literature and wound electronic medical record database review. Ostomy/wound Manag. 2009;55:42–53.
Russell CD, Tsang SJ, Simpson A, Sutherland RK. Outcomes, Microbiology and Antimicrobial Usage in Pressure Ulcer-Related Pelvic Osteomyelitis: messages for clinical practice. J Bone Jt Infect. 2020;5:67–75.
Spellberg B, Lipsky BA. Systemic antibiotic therapy for chronic osteomyelitis in adults. Clin Infect Dis: Off Publ Infect Dis Soc Am. 2012;54:393–407.
Li HK, Rombach I, Zambellas R, Walker AS, McNally MA, Atkins BL, et al. Oral versus Intravenous Antibiotics for Bone and Joint Infection. N Engl J Med. 2019;380:425–36.
Scheel-Sailer A, Plattner C, Flückiger B, Ling B, Schaefer D, Baumberger M, et al. Dekubitus – ein Update. SWISS MEDICAL FORUM 2016;16:489–98.
Türk EE, Tsokos M, Delling G. Autopsy-based assessment of extent and type of osteomyelitis in advanced-grade sacral decubitus ulcers: a histopathologic study. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2003;127:1599–602.
Ochsner P, Borens O, Bodler P, Broger I, Eich G, Hefti F, et al. Infections of the musculoskeletal system: basic principles, prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Swiss orthopaedics in-house-publisher, 2014.
DeVivo MJ, Biering-Sorensen F, New P, Chen Y. Standardization of data analysis and reporting of results from the International Spinal Cord Injury Core Data Set. Spinal Cord. 2011;49:596–9.
Grubb A, Nyman U, Björk J. Improved estimation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by comparison of eGFRcystatin C and eGFRcreatinine. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2012;72:73–7. https://doi.org/10.3109/00365513.2011.634023.
Cunha CB. Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs: principles and practice. Med Clin North Am.2018;102:797–803.
Bernard L, Dinh A, Ghout I, Simo D, Zeller V, Issartel B, et al. Antibiotic treatment for 6 weeks versus 12 weeks in patients with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis: an open-label, non-inferiority, randomised, controlled trial. Lancet. 2015;385:875–82.
Kubben PL, van Santbrink H, Cornips EMJ, Vaccaro AR, Dvorak MF, van Rhijn LW, et al. An evidence-based mobile decision support system for subaxial cervical spine injury treatment. Surg Neurol Int. 2011;2:32–32.
Liberati EG, Ruggiero F, Galuppo L, Gorli M, González-Lorenzo M, Maraldi M, et al. What hinders the uptake of computerized decision support systems in hospitals? A qualitative study and framework for implementation. Implement Sci. 2017;12:113.
Lindqvist EK, Sommar P, Stenius M, Lagergren JF. Complications after pressure ulcer surgery - a study of 118 operations in spinal cord injured patients. J Plast Surg Hand Surg. 2020;54:145–50.
Benchimol EI, Smeeth L, Guttmann A, Harron K, Moher D, Petersen I, et al. 2015;The REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected health Data (RECORD) statement. Z Evid Fortbild Qual Gesundhwes. 2016;115-116:33–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zefq.2016.07.010.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the Decu Care Team (Karin Gläsche, Jessica Decker, Rita Müller, Zamzow) as the supported data collection and discussions in relation to clinical implementation of the results.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
JR developed the study, collected the data, wrote the paper and finalized the paper. RO, SB, MB, DJS, MV, RW were involved in creating the study, gave relevant feedback for the paper and approved the final version of the paper. JK and CF approved the study method, performed the statistical analyses, and gave valuable feedback regarding the paper. ASS developed the study, wrote the paper, and finalized the paper.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests with respect to this research, authorship, and publication of this paper. The work was a part of JE’s doctoral thesis (Dr med. Promotion).
Ethics approval
This study was conducted in compliance with the protocol, the current version of the Declaration of Helsinki, the ICH-GCP as well as all national legal and regulatory requirements, and excluded patients who denied their consent of further use of their data. All data were kept confidential and processed anonymously. The study received ethical permission from the Ethics Committee Northwest and Central Switzerland (EKNZ 2014-107). The RECORD checklist was applied in this observational study [33].
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
41393_2022_758_MOESM1_ESM.docx
Characteristics of patients with spinal cord injury/ disorder (N=117) and grade IV pressure injury (N=137) after surgical treatment (N=125)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rigazzi, J., Fähndrich, C., Osinga, R. et al. Osteomyelitis and antibiotic treatment in patients with grade IV pressure injury and spinal cord lesion—a retrospective cohort study. Spinal Cord 60, 540–547 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-022-00758-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-022-00758-1
This article is cited by
-
Management of pressure injuries with associated osteomyelitis in people with spinal cord injury: a national survey of referral centers in France
Spinal Cord (2025)
-
The frequency of osteomyelitis after pressure injury in spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Spinal Cord Series and Cases (2024)
-
Risk factors of major complications after flap surgery in the treatment of stage III and IV pressure injury in people with spinal cord injury/disorder: a retrospective cohort study
Spinal Cord (2024)
-
Effect of a computerized decision support system on the treatment approach of stage III or IV pressure injury in patients with spinal cord injury: a feasibility study
BMC Health Services Research (2023)
-
Multidisciplinary treatment protocol for ischiatic, sacral, trochanteric or other pressure injuries in people with spinal cord injury: a retrospective cohort study
Spinal Cord (2023)