Journal of Stomatology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Original ArticleOsteomyelitis of the jaws: A retrospective series of 40 patients
Introduction
Mandibular bone infections are subdivided into two groups: (1) osteitis refers to limited infectious bone processes whereas (2) osteomyelitis is a more diffuse process. In 1746, Fauchard [1] wrote: ‘dental caries have more than once caused the loss of a large part of the jaws’. In the nineteenth century, many authors published on mandibular bone infections because osteitis secondary to dental infections, fractures, stomatitis and infectious diseases of the time (syphilis and tuberculosis) were common. At this time, osteitis and osteomyelitis could be lethal but their prevention and treatment benefited from improved oral hygiene, better overall living conditions in Western Europe, and the advent of antibiotic therapy. Nowadays mandibular bone infections are essentially chronic disorders causing potential functional impairement or permanent disability in severe cases. Nevertheless, osteomyelitis still poses diagnostic and therapeutic issues even to the experienced oro-maxillofacial specialist.
The aim of this study was to analyze retrospectively all the cases of maxillo-mandibular osteomyelitis treated in a large academic department of Stomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery over a period of 6 years and to compare the results to data from the literature.
Section snippets
Materials and methods
This retrospective descriptive study was conducted in the Department of Stomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital in Paris, France (Assistance publique–Hôpitaux de Paris) between January 2009 and December 2015.
All patients diagnosed with maxillo-mandibular osteomyelitis by one of the staff surgeons were included into the study with no age limit. The diagnosis of maxillo-mandibular osteomyelitis was retained after a reassessment of the clinical,
Results
Forty patients were retained over a period of 6 years.
Twenty-two patients (55%) were female, 18 (45%) were male (sex ratio = 0.82). The mean age at diagnosis was 42 years (12–73.8), with a standard deviation of 16.54. The mean age at first symptoms was 39 years (9.5–73.7), with a standard deviation of 17.49. Twenty-nine patients (72.5%) were Caucasian, 6 patients (15%) were African and 5 patients (12.5%) were Mediterranean.
Nine patients (22%) were smokers, 3 patients (7.5%) had excessive alcohol
Discussion
Osteomyelitis of the jaws are rare (Table 2). Most Western or Asian series published in the literature include patients irradiated or taking anti-resorptive agents [2], [3], [4]. The West African series also have specificities that differentiate them from our study [6], [7]. Only one series relates to a cohort of 24 patients comparable to ours [8].
The distribution between the two sexes was fair (sex ratio = 0.82). This result is comparable to those published by Daramola and Ajagbe [7] and Khullar
Disclosure of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interest.
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