Acute polyosteal osteomyelitis in a patient with congenital ichthyosis and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Osteomyelitis can develop after bacteremia in children and is a rare complication of chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A child with congenital ichthyosis, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and multifocal hematogenous osteomyelitis is described herein. A breached skin barrier secondary to ichthyosis during induction chemotherapy, coupled with impaired immunity, likely provided the opportunity for bacterial seeding, leading to an extensive multifocal osteomyelitis.