Limited evidence suggests that the method of antibiotic administration (oral versus parenteral) does not affect the rate of disease remission if the bacteria are sensitive to the antibiotic used. However, this and the lack of statistically significant differences in adverse effects need confirmation. No or insufficient evidence exists for other aspects of antibiotic therapy for chronic osteomyelitis.
Oral ciprofloxacin compared with standard parenteral antibiotic therapy for chronic osteomyelitis in adults.
A group of fourteen patients who had chronic osteomyelitis and were treated with oral ciprofloxacin was compared with a group of twelve patients of similar age who had chronic osteomyelitis and received standard parenteral antibiotic therapy consisting of nafcillin, clindamycin, and gentamicin, singly or in combination. The osteomyelitis was arrested at the end of therapy and on follow-up examination of eleven patients in the first group and ten in the second group. The average duration of antibiotic therapy (thirty-eight days) and follow-up (approximately thirty months) were about the same for both groups. Oral administration of ciprofloxacin was as effective and safe as parenteral therapy for the treatment of osteomyelitis in these adults.