[A case report - bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw(stage 0)successfully treated with sitafloxacin]

In recent years, many authors have reported that bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw(BRONJ)is a side effect of bisphosphonate therapy. However, clinicians have been confused by these reports, as no definitive criteria or treatment guidelines for BRONJ exist. In this paper, we report a patient who had BRONJ(stage 0)after dental extraction. She was successfully treated with sitafloxacin(STFX). A 73-year-old female had been taking 35 mg of alendronate per week for 24 months for the treatment of osteoporosis. She had a 1-month history of pain, suppuration, and a mandibular socket that would not heal after a left molar tooth extraction, despite the administration of antibiotics. A diagnosis of BRONJ(stage 0)was made without exposed bone, and she started 200 mg of STFX per day for 2 weeks, which was reduced to 100 mg per day for a week thereafter. After 3 weeks of STFX treatment, the mandibular wound healed. Furthermore, antimicrobial susceptibility testing against all of the organisms isolated from the pus indicated that STFX exhibited the most potent antimicrobial activity of all the agents. The results of these data suggested that STFX may be an effective antibiotic for BRONJ.