Diagnostic value of surgical wound cultures in osteomyelitis

Abstract EN

-Objective : To detect reliability of cultures from discharging surgical bone wounds when compared with operative specimens.

Setting: Basrah University Teaching Hospital, Iraq.

Design : A prospective study.

Ylethods : Surgical wound cu1tures from operative specimens in 42 patients with bone infection were compared with 81 operative isolates.

Results : Seventy five (92.6 %) operative isolates were recovered in the wound cultures, showing a specificity of 91.2 % and a pr·edictive value of 81.5 %.

Conclusion : A specimen, from dischar·ging surgical wound proved to be a reliable source for isolation of all bacteria causing bone infection except Pseudomonas aer·uginosa and coagulasenegative staphylococci because these or·ganisms were found as frequent contaminant of surgical wounds.