Laboratory diagnosis of bone, joint, soft-tissue, and skin infections

The diagnosis of infections of bones, joints, skin, and soft-tissues requires the combined use of a number of laboratory and pathology tests. The diagnosis of most infections requires microbiological cultures, both for isolation and for identification of causative organisms, as well as for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Chemical analysis of joint fluids and histopathologic examination of infected tissues are often necessary to distinguish infections from other causes of inflammation, as well as to provide information as to the type of infection before the results of cultures are available. At this time, the use of molecular amplification tests is of limited value in the diagnosis of these infections, their value primarily being as adjunct tests for the diagnosis of rare or unusual infections.