Patients with sickle cell disease have an increased risk of osteomyelitis caused by which organism?

Patients with sickle cell disease have an increased risk of osteomyelitis caused by which organism?

• A. Salmonella
• B. Staphylococcus aureus
• C. Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• D. Streptococcus pneumoniae

Answer: (A)

In sickle cell disease, osteomyelitis is most classically caused by Salmonella. This association comes from the combination of functional asplenia and bone infarcts, which create a favorable setting for bacteremia to seed the bone. Salmonella has a notable tendency to spread through the bloodstream and infect infarcted or devitalized bone, making it the organism you’re most likely to see in these patients. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of osteomyelitis in the general population, so it’s a frequent culprit overall, but in sickle cell patients Salmonella stands out as the classic infectious agent for this complication. Pseudomonas is more typical with puncture wounds or specific exposures, and Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common encapsulated organism in asplenia but not the characteristic source of osteomyelitis in this group. So, the organism tied most closely to osteomyelitis in sickle cell disease is Salmonella.

In sickle cell disease, osteomyelitis is most classically caused by Salmonella. This association comes from the combination of functional asplenia and bone infarcts, which create a favorable setting for bacteremia to seed the bone. Salmonella has a notable tendency to spread through the bloodstream and infect infarcted or devitalized bone, making it the organism you’re most likely to see in these patients.

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of osteomyelitis in the general population, so it’s a frequent culprit overall, but in sickle cell patients Salmonella stands out as the classic infectious agent for this complication. Pseudomonas is more typical with puncture wounds or specific exposures, and Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common encapsulated organism in asplenia but not the characteristic source of osteomyelitis in this group.

So, the organism tied most closely to osteomyelitis in sickle cell disease is Salmonella.