Infectious Diseases and HIV Conference

Among the severest forms of morbidity with functional incapacitation are orthopedic infections, namely, those related to the bone, joint, or soft tissues.

This lecture discusses various forms of such infections, including osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, and post-orthopedic surgery infections in their diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

This infection of the bone, or osteomyelitis, can be direct inoculation following trauma or surgery or can arise from hematogenous spread from some other site of infection.

Proved diagnoses must be prompt as well as accurate because in delayed treatments, there is follow-up chronic infection leading to the destruction of bones and disability. The imaging techniques discussed, along with microbiologic cultures and molecular tests that could help in the identification of causative pathogens to guide treatment decisions, are MRI and CT scans.

Another extremely important area of orthopedic infection is the special case of the joint infection, including that of septic arthritis. These infections progress rapidly with severe damage to the cartilage leading to nonfunctioning joints unless aggressively treated.

Standard treatment includes antimicrobial therapy combined with surgical interventions, such as joint drainage or debridement, in order to clean out infected tissue.

The attendees will be brought abreast with the latest treatment protocols and novelties in antimicrobial therapy. They will thus manage the patient suffering from septic arthritis when attending this conference.

Infections in the perioperative period, particularly with joint replacements or fracture fixations, carry a high risk and are best managed multidisciplinary.

This session will address strategies to prevent surgical site infections by optimizing patients before surgery, a sterile approach within the operating theater, and appropriate protocols post-surgery.

Novel local antibiotic delivery systems, including cement charged with antibiotics, and other new approaches to infection prevention will be emphasized.

Learners will gain knowledge of current best practice in orthopedic infection management, the role of multidisciplinary care, and emerging trends that are forming new landscapes of treatment and prevention for orthopedic infections.