Background: Intra-osseous (IO) access is recommended in cases of pre-hospital emergency or resuscitation when intravascular (IV) route is difficult or impossible. Despite recent improvement in IO devices and increasing indications, it remains rarely used in practice. Various complications have been reported but are uncommon.
Case presentation: We report a case of massive acute tibial osteomyelitis in an adult male three months after an IO catheter insertion for emergency drug infusion. We review the literature on association between IO access and acute osteomyelitis in children and adults.
Conclusions: Emergency-care givers and radiologists should be informed about this infrequent complication in order to make early diagnosis and initiate adequate antibiotic therapy.
Keywords: Acute osteomyelitis; Antibiotics; Intra-osseous access; Resuscitation; Staphylococcus aureus.