Thirty-nine sites of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bone and joint infection in
thirty-five intravenous drug abusers were treated over a four-year period.
Early diagnosis was based on a history of drug abuse and demonstration of
the site of infection by a technetium bone scan. Most patients responded to
long-term therapy with intravenous aminoglycoside and carbenicillin.
Extensive early surgical procedures were rarely indicated except in
patients with infection of a large synovial joint.