Musculoskeletal infection in children: literature review and update 2007-2009

The epidemiology of musculoskeletal infection is affected by local community factors and must be evaluated by each healthcare facility regarding the most common causative organisms, antibiotic resistance patterns, and disease severity. Because substantial time, effort, and resources are devoted to managing the evaluation and treatment of children with these infections, a coordinated and collaborative process of care should be established to ensure that timely and efficient intervention is enacted so as to improve clinical outcomes and avoid adverse sequelae. This review summarizes the recent literature regarding pediatric musculoskeletal infections.