What is the long term outlook for people with osteomyelitis?

Condition analysis:
When treatment is received, the outcome for acute osteomyelitis is usually good. The outlook is worse for chronic (long-term) osteomyelitis, even with surgery. Amputation may be needed, especially in diabetics or other patients with poor blood circulation. The outlook is guarded in those who have an infection of a prosthesis.

Instructions:
What to Expect at Your Doctor's Office: After you describe your symptoms, your doctor will feel your skin above the affected bone, to check for tenderness. You will get a blood test to check for infection.

Your doctor may do a bone biopsy, either through surgery or by using a needle to remove a small piece of the bone for testing.

Your doctor may need to order more than one imaging test to diagnose osteomyelitis. The first test may be an x-ray. You may have a bone scan, which uses a mildly radioactive compound to highlight infected areas. You may also need a computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET) scan. Each of these tests gives more detailed information than x-rays. PET scans are very accurate for evaluating chronic osteomyelitis.