Clinically, recurrence and life-threatening complications are challenging problems for chronic suppurative osteomyelitis of the jaw. There is no quantitative analysis or report about the causes of or risk factors for the two problems. Doctors identify the causes or risk factors only through clinical experience. The investigators performed a retrospective study of 322 patients with chronic suppurative osteomyelitis of the jaw. The risk factors for the above mentioned two problems were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. The investigators found that some of the patients' general conditions, including age, admission temperature, admission white blood cell count, pre-admission antibiotic administration without consultation, location of the lesion, and general patient condition, were the risk factors. The results indicate that doctors should be mindful of those risk factors and that the management should be more aggressive when the above risk factors are present.

This is a retrospective study of 322 patients hospitalized with CSOJ. The socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded. The risk factors for the above two problems were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Frequency and percentage were used to indicate descriptive research factors. A univariate logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and to identify preliminary risk factors. The preliminary risk factors were further identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The diagnosis on admission was made on the basis of the presence of sequestra and laminations of periosteal new bone in the pathological area.
• The other diagnostic criteria is that symptoms such as local pain, pyorrhea, fever, swelling, fistula, neuropalsy, odontoseisis, lymphadenopathy, bromopnea, and trismus pain are unresponsive or insensitive to conservative therapy and simple debridement.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients without confirmed evidence of CSOJ and (or) without standard treatment (a combination of antimicrobial therapy and surgery consisting of incision and drainage, debridement or sequestrectomy) were excluded.
• Paget's disease, hypercementosis, fibrous dysplasia, and early stage malignant bone tumor were differentially diagnosed and excluded.

Patients with a diagnosis of CSOJ who were admitted to our hospital from 1980 to 2009 were investigated. Ultimately, 322 patients were enrolled in the study of life-threatening complications.Patients were divided into four classes according to their age (years): <6, 6-18, 19-65, >65.