Sonographic diagnosis of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis in the early stage.

This article presents sonographic diagnosis of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis in early stage. 24 children with clinically suspected acute hematogenous osteomyelitis were detected to have subperiosteal abscesses by ultrasound during four to fourteen days after onset. The mean length and anteroposterior distance of the subperiosteal abscesses were 86.4 mm and 10.7 mm, respectively. Of 24 cases of subperiosteal abscesses, aspiration performed under ultrasound guidance revealed purulent fluid in all and 23 were verified surgically. The results obtained indicate that ultrasound can be used in diagnosis of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis in the early stage. The earliest case was diagnosed by ultrasound 4 days after onset. By use of ultrasound, differentiation diagnosis of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis from other diseases such as cellulitis, soft tissue abscess, acute septic arthritis and malignant bone tumors is also discussed.