Seasonal Variation and Weather Changes Related to the Occurrence and Severity of Acute Hematogenous Osteomyelitis in Children

Abstract

This study identified seasonal variation in the occurrence of AHO in children; summer was the most common season for occurrence. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed evaluation of weather parameters and trends in weather changes from symptom onset to admission with consideration of the effects of weather on the occurrence of infection and severity of illness.

Association between higher ambient temperature and orthopaedic infection rates: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Our search identified 2191 unique documents. Eighteen studies met all criteria and were included in this review . Figure represents the process of inclusion and exclusion.…”

“…with 9128 infections . Sixteen (89%) studies directly stated the number of infection cases while case number was obtained from the authors for one manuscript (7%) and could not be derived for one study . Most research was carried out in the USA (14 studies, 78%) while one study each was conducted in Taiwan, Japan, Australia and Switzerland .…”

Humidity a potential risk factor for prosthetic joint infection in a tropical Australian hospital

“…17 More recently, Lindsay et al identified that a change in average humidity between symptom onset and admission in the winter was significantly associated with severity of illness among children with haematogenous osteomyelitis in the USA. 16 These same authors conceded that the complex interaction between environment, pathogen and host made it difficult to explain this finding. A commonly proposed mechanism for the impact of weather on skin and soft tissue infection rates is that commensal organisms such as staphylococcal species proliferate at optimal moisture and temperature conditions to levels that increase the risk of infection, 7 a theory reinforced by laboratory studies.…”

“…Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci are the primary infecting organisms following orthopaedic surgery and these too display seasonality based on meteorological and calendar patterns. [13][14][15] Humidity has also been implicated in the severity of acute haematogenous osteomyelitis, 16,17 suggesting that in addition to temperature other features such as moisture, rainfall and air quality also influence the pathogenicity of commensal skin flora in orthopaedic patients. [13][14][15] Humidity has also been implicated in the severity of acute haematogenous osteomyelitis, 16,17 suggesting that in addition to temperature other features such as moisture, rainfall and air quality also influence the pathogenicity of commensal skin flora in orthopaedic patients.…”

“…6,7 Prior epidemiological studies in orthopaedics have placed particular emphasis on the role that higher ambient temperatures might have on surgical site infection with increased risk identified in spinal surgery, 8,9 lower limb joint replacement [10][11][12] and fracture fixation. [13][14][15] Humidity has also been implicated in the severity of acute haematogenous osteomyelitis, 16,17 suggesting that in addition to temperature other features such as moisture, rainfall and air quality also influence the pathogenicity of commensal skin flora in orthopaedic patients.…”