ABSTRACT
Infection usually gives rise to an acute or chronic inflammatory reaction, which is the body's way of combating the invaders by destroying them, or at least immobilizing and confining them to a restricted area. Adults with diabetes and vascular disease, who are prone to soft-tissue infections of the foot, may develop contiguous bone infection involving a variety of organisms. Bone infection in the adult usually follows an open injury, an operation or spread from a contiguous focus of infection. The host defences are inevitably compromised by the presence of scar formation, dead and dying bone around the focus of infection, poor penetration of new blood vessels and non-collapsing cavities in which microbes can thrive. Periprosthetic joint infection is a specific type of infection related to joint replacement and a dreadful complication, potentially chronic, with significant clinical relevance for the affected patient, the treating surgeon and the health system.
