According to a pragmatic open-label trial, the use of oral antibiotics during the first 6 weeks was non-inferior to intravenous antibiotics for the treatment of complex bone and joint infections. Complex bone and joint infections have routinely been treated with initial surgery followed by a long course of intravenous antibiotics. This reflects the broadly-held belief that parenteral therapy is inherently superior to oral therapy, despite the risks, costs, and inconvenience of intravenous treatments.
In a meta-analysis, it was found that there was no significant advantage of intravenous treatment of chronic osteomyelitis; however, the data were insufficient to draw definitive conclusions. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of oral antibiotics in bone and joint infections. The team of researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston,…
