We report the case of a 15-year-old girl with pelvic and sacral emphysematous osteomyelitis caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum. This infection was cured following four surgical procedures and 4 weeks of intravenous then 4 weeks of oral antibiotics. We review our case alongside the 24 previously reported cases of emphysematous osteomyelitis in the literature. The 25 cases include 15 monomicrobial and 10 polymicrobial infections. The causative organism(s) in all but three cases included an anaerobe or a member of the Enterobacteriaceae family. A significant underlying comorbidity was reported in 18 cases. At least 15 cases required one or more surgical procedures. There was a significant associated mortality with eight (32%) patients dying in hospital at 7 to 56 days after the diagnosis of emphysematous osteomyelitis.

Annual administration of zoledronate is a potent and effective therapy for the prevention or treatment of bone loss in HIV-infected men. The current data provide the first trial evidence of the BMD effects of annual zoledronate beyond 1 yr in any population, as well as being the first reported trial in men.

Background: Propionibacterium acnes is increasingly recognized as a cause of post-neurosurgical infection. This review of patients with P. acnes neurosurgical infection was carried out in order to determine clinical characteristics and outcomes in relation to duration of antimicrobial treatment. Methods:We retrospectively reviewed the charts of consecutive patients with P. acnes isolated from neurosurgical specimens from 1 January 1999 to 30 June 2005. We defined P. acnes neurosurgical infection as isolation of P. acnes alone from a sterile neurosurgical site in a patient who clinically improved following treatment with an appropriate antibiotic. Results:We identified 28 patients with definite P. acnes neurosurgical infection; median age 49 years (range 23-77); 15 (54%) male. All patients had prior neurosurgical procedures: 27 (96%) post-craniotomy. The median time from surgery to presentation was 54 days (range 12-1578). Eighteen out of 28 (64%) patients who met the definition of neurosurgical infection had Gram-positive bacilli seen in at least one surgical specimen compared with only 2/56 (4%) patients who did not meet the definition (P < 0.0001). Intravenous benzyl penicillin + + + + + oral penicillin VK was the most common treatment. The median duration of antibiotic treatment for intracranial infection was 29 days. Five of nine patients who had extracranial bone-flap-associated infection had 7 days of intravenous treatment and were cured. Two patients had relapse or reinfection.Conclusions: P. acnes neurosurgical infection often presents in an indolent fashion. Gram-positive bacilli on Gram stain should not be discounted as a contaminant in neurosurgical specimens. Associated bone flaps should be removed. Intravenous benzyl penicillin + + + + + oral penicillin VK remains effective treatment.

The effects of two annual 4-mg doses of zoledronate in men persist for at least 5 yr after the second dose. Larger trials assessing the antifracture efficacy of less frequent dosing of zoledronate are justified.

Accelerated bone loss does not occur in HIV-infected men treated with HAART. Monitoring of BMD in HIV-infected men may not be necessary.