Abstract: Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical efficacy and adverse effects of antibiotic regimens for patients with bone infections.
Methods: Patients who were admitted to our hospital with a bone infection were retrospectively analyzed. Following surgical debridement, the patients were categorized into three groups: the IV group (Consisting of two weeks of intravenous antibiotic treatment); the oral group (consisting of two weeks of oral antibiotics followed by two weeks of intravenous antibiotics); and the rifampicin group (consisting of four weeks of oral antibiotics plus rifampicin). Complications and infection control rates were compared across the three categories.
Results: Two hundred patients were enlisted in total. A total of 80 tibias, 18 femurs, 17 humeri, 8 radii and ulnae, 31 calcanei, and 37 miscellaneous sites were identified as sites of infection. The recurrence rate in the IV group was 17.9%, which did not differ significantly from the recurrence rates observed in the oral (10.1%) and rifampicin (10.5%) groups, respectively (P = 0.051). 14.1% of the IV group exhibited anomalous alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, a significantly lower incidence rate than the oral (17.0%) and rifampicin (25.9%) groups (P = 0.025). Proteinuria was present at frequencies of 2.2%, 3.5%, and 7.3%, respectively, in the three groups (P = 0.023).
Conclusion: Short-term antibiotic treatment regimens may achieve comparable rates of infection eradication following debridement of bone infections, while circumventing the potential renal and hepatic harm that is linked to extended antibiotic usage.
