The Epidemiology and Regional Burden of Musculoskeletal Infection In Pediatric Orthopaedics

Purpose Pediatric musculoskeletal infection (MSKI) is a significant cause of morbidity, mortality and hospital resource utilization. Effective clinical practice guidelines are necessary to guide care and maximize the use of hospital resources. However, it is hypothesized that the burden and cause of MSKI varies widely with geography, thus may require region-specific guidelines to optimize the quality, safety, and value of care for children with MSKI. The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiology and regional differences in burden and causative microbes in MSKI evaluated and treated by pediatric orthopaedic surgeons. Methods Seventeen CORTICES centers (Figure-1A) retrospectively reviewed a minimum of 1 year of patient charts from 2010–2016 (average 2.6 years) reporting the annual number of emergency department (ED) visits, orthopaedic consultations, MSKI-related consultations, patients with …