Actinomyces meyeri osteomyelitis: an unusual cause of chronic infection of the tibia.

A 50-year-old man had draining fistulas of the right tibula for 15 years. He had been previously treated with antibiotic therapy of an unknown nature and by 3 sequestrectomies spaced over the 15-year interval, without a cure having been achieved. Several anaerobic bacteria, including Actinomyces meyeri were isolated from the bone lesion. The involvement of an actinomycete in osteomyelitis of a long bone is a very rare occurrence. After an additional sequestrectomy and penicillin therapy of an appropriate nature, clinical remission was achieved for the first time in 15 years.