What is periostitis? Treatment and basic information about this disease will be presented below. You will also learn about the reasons why this disease develops, how it manifests itself and is diagnosed.
Basic information
What is periostitis (diagnosis, treatment of this pathology will be discussed later)? In modern medicine, this term is used to refer to the inflammatory process that occurs in the periosteum of the bone.
As you know, the periosteum is a connective tissue in the form of a film, which is located along the entire outer surface of the bone. Usually, the inflammatory process begins in the inner or outer layers of the periosteum, after which it penetrates into its thickness.
Reason for development
Why does periostitis develop? Treatment of this disease should begin only after the cause of its occurrence has been identified. These include the following:
- Various injuries, including dislocations, bruises, bone fractures, tendon sprains and ruptures, injuries.
- Inflammation of nearby tissues, which provoked infection of the periosteum.
- Specific causes - inflammation of the periosteumoccurs due to diseases such as tuberculosis, actinomycosis, syphilis, and others.
- Toxic causes, which are the effects of toxins on periosteal tissues.
- Allergic or rheumatic causes - inflammation occurs due to the reaction of periosteal tissues to allergens that have penetrated into it.
Signs of disease
How is periostitis manifested, the treatment of which is described below? The symptoms of this disease depend on its type. Such a disease can be accompanied by swelling at the site of inflammation with severe pain, increased local temperature, impaired support function, mobility of the skin over the lesion, increased pulse and breathing of the patient, loss of appetite, weakness, fatigue and general depression.
What bones strikes?
Periostitis of the jaw, a photo of which you can find in this article, is an inflammatory process that occurs in the alveolar region of the lower jaw or process of the upper.
Most often this disease develops due to diseased teeth, including undiagnosed or untreated pulpitis or periodontitis. Also, inflammation can be caused by infection in the periosteum from other organs along with the flow of lymph or blood.
If the treatment of such a disease is not carried out on time, then periostitis will provoke the development of a fistula on the gum. As a result, purulent inflammation can go beyond the periosteum and get into the surrounding tissues, which will cause an abscess or phlegmon.
Becausecure periostitis of the jaw? The treatment of this disease is carried out in exactly the same way as the therapy of other inflammations. It should be recalled that periostitis can also affect organs such as:
- tooth;
- leg;
- shin;
- knee joint;
- foot;
- metatarsus;
- nose;
- eye socket and others.
Disease classification
How is periostitis classified? The treatment of this disease depends on its type and stage of development. In modern medicine, there are several types of the disease in question. They depend on the causes of their occurrence and the nature of the inflammatory processes.
- Exudative periostitis, including serous, serous-fibrinous, fibrinous and purulent types.
- Proliferative periostitis, which includes ossifying and fibrotic types.
It should be noted that exudative periostitis occurs quickly and acutely, while proliferative periostitis is chronic.
Also the disease in question can be:
- simple;
- TB;
- syphilitic;
- gummy and stuff.
According to the duration of the course, 2 different forms of this disease are distinguished:
- acute periostitis (treatment must be prescribed on time so that the process does not go into a chronic stage);
- chronic (difficult to treat).
The following types of periostitis are distinguished by involvement in the resulting inflammation of microorganisms:
- Purulent (caused by infections in the periosteum).
- Aseptic (caused by closed injuries of bones not protected by soft tissues).
Diagnosis
Treatment of purulent periostitis should be started only after its diagnosis. Its methods differ depending on the form of the course and the type of disease.
In an acute illness, questioning and examining the patient are effective. Also an important aspect are the results of a general blood test. As for the X-ray examination, in this case it is ineffective.
With the development of nasal periostitis, rhinoscopy is often used.
Chronic periostitis is diagnosed by x-ray. With the help of the image taken, it is possible to identify not only the localization of the lesion, but also its boundaries, shape, size and nature of the layers. Also, this method helps to identify necrotic changes in bone tissue and the degree of penetration of the inflammatory process into it.
Differential Diagnosis
This procedure is used only if an accurate diagnosis is required, as the patient has symptoms of several similar diseases.
In case of purulent and acute periostitis, it should be distinguished from acute osteomyelitis, periodontitis, phlegmon and abscesses caused by other causes, as well as from purulent diseases of the lymph nodes, salivary glands and others.
With specific, aseptic and chronic periostitis, X-rays are requiredstudy. It helps to identify growths and thickenings on the bone, as well as bone neoplasms and necrotic changes.
It should also be noted that the differential diagnosis of a chronic disease should be carried out in conjunction with the detection of malignant tumors and osteomyelitis.
In the event that the X-ray examination has serious difficulties with the diagnosis, then in this case, specialists resort to a biopsy.
Periostitis: treatment
Antibiotics do not always treat this disease.
In the traumatic form of the disease in the initial stage of development, complete rest is an effective measure. Various ice compresses and physiotherapy are also used, including UHF, ozocerite applications, electrophoresis, ultraviolet radiation. With this form of periostitis, antibiotics are prescribed only if infection of the lesion is suspected.
Therapy of aseptic periostitis is carried out with the use of physiotherapy. To do this, use applications of permanent magnets, which reduce the amount of exudate. At the second stage of treatment, STP or laser therapy is used to restore the structure of the periosteum and resolve its thickenings.
Surgical intervention is indicated for purulent periostitis, during which the periosteum is dissected, and the existing pus is taken out.
As for the acute form of periostitis, it requires not only an operation, but also the appointment of antibiotics, as well as restorative medicines,physiotherapeutic procedures and medicines that eliminate intoxication of the body.
With the development of chronic periostitis, the patient is prescribed a course of general strengthening drugs and antibiotics. Also, in the treatment of this form of the disease, physiotherapy is indicated (laser therapy, paraffin therapy, iontophoresis with 5% potassium iodide), which promotes the resorption of growths on the bone and pathological thickenings.
Disease prevention
Is it possible to get rid of such a disease as periostitis on your own? Home treatment of this disease is undesirable. This is due to the fact that traditional methods for such a pathology are ineffective, and a neglected disease can pose a serious threat to the patient's life.
Prevention of inflammation of the periosteum is the timely elimination of the causes that lead to the onset of the disease. For example, periostitis of the jaw or tooth can be prevented by timely treatment of pulpitis, caries and periodontitis.
Aseptic periostitis caused by tuberculosis, osteomyelitis or syphilis can be prevented by treating the underlying disease.
Traumatic and post-traumatic types of this disease are prevented through the immediate treatment of periosteal tissue damage with medical and physiotherapeutic procedures.
Disease prognosis
The prognosis of periostitis depends on its form and type, as well as timely treatment.
Most often, patients manage to get rid of acute andtraumatic types of disease.
With purulent periostitis, especially in advanced cases and with untimely treatment, the prognosis is unfavorable. In this case, complications such as inflammation of all bone tissues and the occurrence of sepsis can occur.
