Management of chronic osteomyelitis in a developing country using ceftriaxone-PMMA beads: an initial study

Chronic osteomyelitis is a debilitating disease that is fairly common in developing countries. Various operative techniques have been adopted in the management of this disease but there have been few reports of their use in Africa. In this report, we present our experience of the use of a modified two-staged Belfast operation in patients with chronic osteomyelitis in Ibadan, Nigeria. An important modification of the procedure was the substitution of gentamicin beads (Septopal) with ceftriaxone-polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads at the saucerised segment of bone at the first stage. Thirty-four patients with chronic osteomyelitis had the two-stage Belfast operation in 35 long bones; of these, 32 patients had ceftriaxone-PMMA antibiotic beads inserted at the saucerised segment of bone at the first stage, while the other two patients had gentamicin beads inserted. One of the two patients who had gentamicin beads had a residual collection of pus at second stage surgery but, following a repeat debridement, the cavity was rid of infection. There was recurrence of infection in three patients (8.6%) who had a suction drain inserted at the first stage and in six patients (17.1%) who had no suction drain at the first stage. The locally produced ceftriaxone-PMMA beads were found to be as efficient as the commercially available gentamicin beads in eluting antibiotics locally, thereby eliminating the residual infection in the bone cavities after the first stage. Another important outcome was a fourfold saving in cost in choosing to use ceftriaxone-PMMA beads rather than gentamicin beads.