Bone & joints
Arthritis
Septic arthritis
Author: Vijay Shankar, M.D.
Last author update: 1 March 2013
Last staff update: 1 May 2023
Copyright: 2002-2024, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: Septic arthritis [title]
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Sites | Diagnosis | Case reports | Treatment | Clinical images | Microscopic (histologic) descriptionCite this page: Shankar V. Septic arthritis. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/jointssuppurativearthritis.html. Accessed April 16th, 2024.
Definition / general
- Due to seeding of joint during bacteremia, most commonly Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, gram negative rods; rarely syphilis
- Also due to postsurgical infection
- Neonates: often due to osteomyelitis; hip more common than ankle or knee
- Young women: usually gonorrhea, associated with multiple joint involvement, including knee
- Sickle cell disease: Salmonella
- Risk factors: immune deficiencies, severe illness, joint trauma, chronic arthritis, intravenous drug abuse
- Symptoms: sudden development of acutely painful and swollen joint with restricted range of motion, systemic findings
Sites
- Usually single joint (knee, hip, shoulder)
Diagnosis
- Aspiration of joint under radiologic guidance
Case reports
- 38 year old man with septic arthritis due to Staphylococcus warneri (Open Rheumatol J 2012;6:310)
- 40 year old man with septic arthritis of hip due to Salmonella typhi (Case Rep Infect Dis 2012;2012:464527)
- 53 year old woman with isolated septic facet joint arthritis (Pol J Radiol 2012;77:72)
- 66 year old man with septic arthritis of knee associated with calf abscess (J Orthop Surg (Hong Kong) 2012;20:272)
Treatment
- Immediate surgical incision and drainage, immobilization and antibiotics
Clinical images
Images hosted on other servers:
Ankle joint
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Neutrophils (also Behcet disease, familial Mediterranean fever)
