Paediatric Osteomyelitis and Septic Arthritis Pathogen Distribution and Antimicrobial Resistance in a Single Centre: A 15-Year Retrospective Analysis

ABSTRACT Background The epidemiological characteristics of the common pathogens underlying acute haematogenous osteoarticular infection (AHOI) and their resistance to drugs have temporal and regional differences. Aims To determine the antimicrobial treatment most effective for culture-negative AHOI patients and those without bacterial cultures. Methods Retrospective analysis of clinical data of children with AHOI who were culture positive from January 2007 to December 2021. And the distribution of the main pathogens and the drug resistance Staphylococcus aureus were analysed in different time periods, age groups and infection types. Results A total of 188 cases met the inclusion criteria, including 97 cases of acute haematogenous osteomyelitis (AHO), 75 cases of septic arthritis (SA) and 16 cases of AHO concomitant with SA. The commonest causative pathogen in local children was S. aureus of Gram-positive cocci, followed by Streptococcus, and occasionally Gram-negative bacilli. The distribution of S. aureus had no significant correlation with age or infection type. Staphylococcus aureus accounted for 81.82%, 90.91% and 96.15% of all pathogens, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) accounted for 24.22%, 53.33% and 76.00% of S. aureus in 2007–11, 2012–16 and 2017–21, respectively. The frequency of MRSA infection showed an increasing trend over time. Conclusion Staphylococcus aureus is still the main pathogen of AHOI in local children. The proportion of MRSA in S. aureus has also increased over time to 76% in the last 5 years, and the increased proportion of MRSA can affect the choice of initial empirical medication.