Type of microbial flora in patients with bone and joint infections: Our experience at a tertiary care center of Eastern India

Abstract

Introduction: Bone and joint infections are very common in eastern India. Due to the lack of authentic data on the type of bacteriology in our region, this study was planned. Materials and Methods: After ethical clearance, retrospective data of 2 years from 2019 to 2021 were collected. Out of 115 patients, 77 patients were included in the study whereas 38 were excluded due to nonbacterial infections and incomplete data. Results: The average age of patients was 21.14 years. Pediatric patients were 58.66%. The common clinical condition was chronic osteomyelitis, followed by septic arthritis. The most common bone affected was femur, followed by tibia. The most common organism noted was methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus aureus (CNSA). Gram-negative infections were also noted. Conclusions: Eastern India has a high incidence of bone and joint infection. MRSA followed by CNSA is the most common isolate affecting large bones such as femur and tibia.

Keywords

• bones and joints
• eastern india
• infections
• microbial flora