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.
Development reasons
Why does periostitis develop? Treatment of this ailment should only begin after the cause of its occurrence has been identified. These include the following:
- Various injuries, including dislocations, bruises, broken bones, sprain and rupture of tendons, injuries.
- Inflammation of nearby tissues, which provoked infection of the periosteum.
- Specific causes - inflammation of the periosteum is due to diseases such as tuberculosis, actinomycosis, syphilis and more.
- Toxic causes are the effects of toxins on periosteum tissue.
- Allergic or rheumatic causes - inflammation occurs due to the reaction of periosteum tissue to allergens that have penetrated into it.
Signs of the disease
How is periostitis manifested, the treatment of which is described below? Symptoms of this disease depend on its type. Such a disease can be accompanied by swelling at the site of inflammation with severe pain, an increase in local temperature, impaired support function, mobility of the skin over the lesion, increased patient’s pulse and respiration, loss of appetite, weakness, rapid fatigue, and general depression.
What bones affects?
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, such a 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 lymph or blood flow.
If the treatment of such a disease is not done on time, then periostitis will provoke the development of a fistula on the gum. As a result of this, purulent inflammation can extend beyond the periosteum and enter the surrounding tissues, which will cause an abscess or phlegmon.
So how to cure jaw periostitis? 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 affect organs such as:
- tooth;
- leg
- shin;
- knee-joint;
- foot;
- metatarsal bone ;
- nose;
- eye socket and others.
Disease classification
How is periostitis classified? The treatment for this disease depends on its type and stage of development. In modern medicine, several types of the disease in question are distinguished. 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 fibrous species.
It should be noted that exudative periostitis proceeds quickly and acutely, and proliferative ones are of a chronic nature.
The disease in question may also be:
- simple;
- tuberculosis;
- syphilitic;
- gummous and stuff.
According to the duration of the course, 2 different forms of this disease are distinguished:
- acute periostitis (treatment should be prescribed on time so that the process does not go into the chronic stage);
- chronic (difficult to treat).
By involvement in the resulting inflammation of microorganisms, the following types of periostitis are distinguished:
- Purulent (occur as a result of infection in the periosteum).
- Aseptic (occur due to closed bone injuries that are not protected by soft tissues).
Diagnostics
Treatment of purulent periostitis should begin only after its diagnosis. Its methods differ depending on the form of the course and the type of disease.
In acute illness, interrogation and examination of the patient are effective. An important aspect is the results of a general blood test. As for the x-ray study, in this case it is ineffective.
With the development of periostitis of the nose, rhinoscopy is very often used.
Chronic periostitis is diagnosed by x-ray. Using the taken picture, it is possible to identify not only the localization of the lesion focus, but also its borders, 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 it is necessary to establish an accurate diagnosis, as the patient has symptoms of several similar diseases.
With 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, an x-ray study is mandatory. It helps to identify growths and thickenings on the bone, as well as neoplasms of bone tissue and necrotic changes.
It should also be noted that the differential diagnosis of chronic disease should be carried out together with the detection of malignant tumors and osteomyelitis.
In the event that during an X-ray examination there were serious difficulties with making a diagnosis, then in this case, specialists resort to a biopsy.
Periostitis: treatment
Antibiotics do not always treat this disease.
With the traumatic form of the disease in the initial stage of development, complete rest is an effective measure. Various ice packs and physiotherapy are also used, including UHF, ozokerite applications, electrophoresis, ultraviolet radiation. With this form of periostitis, antibiotic drugs are prescribed only if infection of the lesion is suspected.
Therapy of aseptic periostitis is carried out using physiotherapy. For this, applications from permanent magnets are used, 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 resorb its thickenings.
With purulent periostitis, surgical intervention is indicated, during which the periosteum is dissected, and the existing pus is extracted outside.
As for the acute form of periostitis, it requires not only surgery, but also the appointment of antibiotics, as well as fortifying medicines, physiotherapeutic procedures and drugs that eliminate intoxication of the body.
With the development of chronic periostitis, the patient is prescribed a course of restorative 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 resorption of growths on the bones and pathological thickenings.
Disease prevention
Is it possible to get rid of a disease such as periostitis on its own? Treatment at home of this disease is undesirable. This is due to the fact that folk methods with 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 the timely treatment of pulpitis, caries and periodontitis.
Aseptic periostitis caused by tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, or syphilis can be prevented by treatment of the underlying disease.
Traumatic and post-traumatic types of this disease are prevented by immediate treatment of periosteum tissue damage with medical and physiotherapeutic procedures.
Disease prognosis
The prognosis of periostitis depends on its shape and type, as well as timely treatment.
Most often, patients manage to get rid of acute and traumatic types of the disease.
With purulent periostitis, especially in advanced cases and with untimely treatment, the prognosis is poor. In this case, complications such as inflammation of all bone tissue and the occurrence of sepsis can occur.