Pathological fracture of the right distal radius caused by Enterobacter aerogenes osteomyelitis in an adult.

A pathological fracture is a break in a diseased bone caused by weakening of the bone structure by a pathological process with no identifiable trauma. Acute bacterial osteomyelitis that results in pathological fractures in the extremities is rare in adults. To our knowledge, we report the first case of Enterobacter aerogenes osteomyelitis of the right distal radius, complicated with a pathological fracture, in a 79-year-old man with diabetes, which was diagnosed by radiological, microbiological, and histopathological examinations. He recovered well after an 8-week course of antibiotics and surgical debridement. This highlights the fact that radial osteomyelitis should be included in the differential diagnosis when an elderly diabetic patient with no history of trauma presents with pain in the forearm.