7: Soft tissue, bone and joint infections.

Soft tissue infections are common and usually respond rapidly to oral antibiotics; if empirical therapy fails then exposure to unusual organisms should be considered. Septic arthritis requires early recognition, identification of the infecting pathogen and urgent joint washout to prevent irreversible cartilage and bone destruction. Prosthetic joint infection is uncommon but has high morbidity; the best outcomes are achieved with removal of the prosthesis and replacement after at least six weeks of antibiotic therapy. Osteomyelitis often complicates diabetic foot infection with ulceration and is rarely cured by antibiotics alone; early surgical intervention achieves the best outcome.