HOES Criteria

 Histopathological Osteomyelitis Evaluation Score (HOES) 

For cases of suspected surgical site infection (SSI's) where revision surgery is planned, getting an accurate diagnosis is critical for the accuracy of the TAAFS study outcomes.

When any patient returns to theatre for possible infection, bone samples must be sent for:

• Microscopy, culture & sensitivities (M/C/S)

• Histopathology

The HOES criteria is an objective Histopathology scoring system to characterize osteomyelitis (original article Here). It is used in the TAAFS study to complement the Fracture Related Infection (FRI) score used to diagnose osteomyelitis.

When requesting histopathology simply request the pathologist score the sample according to HOES criteria and write a link to the www.taafs.com.au website to give the pathologist easy access to the HOES resources below.

Attached below is:

• The HOES and FRI (Fracture Related Infections) explanatory information sheet

• Example paper and iEMR pathology request forms