Bone and joint infections at a tertiary-care hospital: Review of one hundred seventy-eight cases

BONE AND JOINT INFECTIONS are a common cause of hospital admissions and lengthy hospital stays. Over the years, considerable changes have taken place in the investigation, management, and classification of these infections [1,2]. With the issue of increasing antibiotic resistance worldwide, it is becoming more important to understand exactly which pathogens are responsible for particular diseases in specific settings and their antibiotic susceptibilities. There are few studies documenting the pattern of bone and joint infection in specific settings and no such New Zealand studies. In this study, we review 178 cases of bone and joint infection occurring over a 2-year period at Middlemore Hospital in South Auckland, New Zealand.