Jay, I'm so sorry that your brother finds himself in this situation. I have only had one client with osteomyelitis (infection of the bone). Actually, it started as discitis (infection of the disc) that spread to adjacent vertebrae. He was told that IV antibiotics alone would not resolve the infection. A debridement surgery in which they physcally removed accessible infected tissues and bathed the area with antibiotics. This was followed with a long course of IV antibiotics via PICC line.
Strangely, he was evaluated for discitis, but the infection parameters (SED rate, CRP, etc...) were too low to make the diagnosis. This allowed the infection to rage much longer before treatment was started. This was a VERY painful condition... so severe that the patient could not ambulate. Following treatment, his recovery (pain wise) was quite slow, but after more than a year, he started to return to normal.
I don't know how this case relates to your brother. They are not just controlling the normal infection parameters... I would have thought the biopsy would have been dispositive.
I wish I could offer you something more. Good luck to you and your brother!
Mark
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