Antibiotic-Impregnated Calcium Sulfate vs. Wound Irrigation-Suction to Treat Chronic Calcaneal Osteomyelitis

Background: Chronic osteomyelitis of calcaneus is not rare but is very hard to treat. Irrigation-suction and antibiotic-impregnated calcium sulfate following debridement are commonly used in managing chronic osteomyelitis, but their effects have rarely been compared. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of antibiotic-impregnated calcium sulfate with irrigation-suction in the treatment of patients with chronic calcaneal osteomyelitis. Methods: From January 2011 to June 2018, adult patients at our institute with chronic osteomyelitis receiving treatment of either antibiotic-impregnated calcium sulfate (CS group) or irrigation-suction (IS group) following thorough debridement were screened and selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The clinical presentation, laboratory tests, complications, and the ultimate single-staged cure rate and recurrence were compared. Results: A total of 61 patients, including 41 in the CS group and 20 in the IS group, were included in our study. Of the patients, 85.4% in the CS group and 60.0% in the IS group (P = .006) were successfully cured in the single stage, respectively, without infection recurrence. Lower infection recurrence rates with shorter hospital stay were found in the CS group than the IS group. Inflammatory biomarkers after surgery with both treatments were slightly decreased and not significantly different from preoperative or between-groups postoperative. Exudate from incision was found primarily in the CS group. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that both antibiotic-impregnated calcium sulfate and irrigation-suction after careful and thorough surgical debridement are generally effective in treating chronic calcaneal osteomyelitis. Antibiotic-impregnated calcium sulfate achieved a higher single-staged cure rate but was associated with an increased postoperative wound exudate.