The Prognosis of Chronic Staphylococcal Osteomyelitis after Long-Term Antibiotic Treatment

41 patients with chronic staphylococcal osteomyelitis received antibiotic therapy for at least 6 months. They were observed for 1–5.5 years after the end of treatment. The frequency of recurrences after such long-term treatment (LTT) was significantly lower than before. Despite this improvement, 21 recurrences were diagnosed in 12 patients (29%) during the observation period. The recurrences did not appear to be associated with any particular characteristic of the patients. 16 of the recurrences were seen in 8 patients infected with staphylococci belonging to phage group I. Various aspects of the virulence of staphylococci were considered, but no particular factor could be regarded as decisive for the recurrence tendency. Half of the patients were treated surgically and/or locally with antibiotics during LTT. Especially sequestrectomy appeared to improve the prognosis.