Mary E Margaretten, Jeffrey Kohlwes, Dan Moore, Stephen Bent
Does this adult patient have septic arthritis?
JAMA. 2007 Apr 4;297(13):1478-88. doi: 10.1001/jama.297.13.1478.
Abstract/Text
CONTEXT: In patients who present with an acutely painful and swollen joint, prompt identification and treatment of septic arthritis can substantially reduce morbidity and mortality.
OBJECTIVE: To review the accuracy and precision of the clinical evaluation for the diagnosis of nongonococcal bacterial arthritis.
DATA SOURCES: Structured PubMed and EMBASE searches (1966 through January 2007), limited to human, English-language articles and using the following Medical Subject Headings terms: arthritis, infectious, physical examination, medical history taking, diagnostic tests, and sensitivity and specificity.
STUDY SELECTION: Studies were included if they contained original data on the accuracy or precision of historical items, physical examination, serum, or synovial fluid laboratory data for diagnosing septic arthritis.
DATA EXTRACTION: Three authors independently abstracted data from the included studies.
DATA SYNTHESIS: Fourteen studies involving 6242 patients, of whom 653 met the gold standard for the diagnosis of septic arthritis, satisfied all inclusion criteria. Two studies examined risk factors and found that age, diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, joint surgery, hip or knee prosthesis, skin infection, and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection significantly increase the probability of septic arthritis. Joint pain (sensitivity, 85%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 78%-90%), a history of joint swelling (sensitivity, 78%; 95% CI, 71%-85%), and fever (sensitivity, 57%; 95% CI, 52%-62%) are the only findings that occur in more than 50% of patients. Sweats (sensitivity, 27%; 95% CI, 20%-34%) and rigors (sensitivity, 19%; 95% CI, 15%-24%) are less common findings in septic arthritis. Of all laboratory findings readily available to the clinician, the 2 most powerful were the synovial fluid white blood cell (WBC) count and percentage of polymorphonuclear cells from arthrocentesis. The summary likelihood ratio (LR) increased as the synovial fluid WBC count increased (for counts <25,000/microL: LR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.23-0.43; for counts > or =25,000/microL: LR, 2.9; 95% CI, 2.5-3.4; for counts >50,000/microL: LR, 7.7; 95% CI, 5.7-11.0; and for counts >100,000/microL: LR, 28.0; 95% CI, 12.0-66.0). On the same synovial fluid sample, a polymorphonuclear cell count of at least 90% suggests septic arthritis with an LR of 3.4 (95% CI, 2.8-4.2), while a polymorphonuclear cell count of less than 90% lowers the likelihood (LR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.25-0.47).
CONCLUSIONS: Clinical findings identify patients with peripheral, monoarticular arthritis who might have septic arthritis. However, the synovial WBC and percentage of polymorphonuclear cells from arthrocentesis are required to assess the likelihood of septic arthritis before the Gram stain and culture test results are known.
Catherine J Mathews, Gerald Coakley
Septic arthritis: current diagnostic and therapeutic algorithm.
Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2008 Jul;20(4):457-62. doi: 10.1097/BOR.0b013e3283036975.
Abstract/Text
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To propose and discuss an evidence-based algorithm for the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial septic arthritis. Also, to review the recent literature on emerging management strategies and discuss the potential impact of these developments on clinical practice.
RECENT FINDINGS: Evidence-based guidelines have recently been published to assist in the diagnosis and management of suspected and confirmed septic arthritis. All suspected septic joints should be aspirated and the synovial fluid examined by microscopy for the presence of crystals and microorganisms. There is controversy surrounding the diagnostic utility of quantifying the synovial fluid white cell count, with two recent systematic reviews reaching opposite conclusions. The emergence of multidrug resistant pathogens has led to a search for alternative antimicrobial agents such as linezolid. Studies in animals and children have suggested that corticosteroid therapy may be a useful adjunct to conventional antibiotic therapy. Research using experimental murine models of septic arthritis is also generating novel immunotherapeutic targets as potential adjuncts to antibiotic regimens.
SUMMARY: There is a striking paucity of high-quality evidence upon which to base guidelines on the management of the hot-swollen joint. Ultimately, the diagnosis of septic arthritis rests on the opinion of a clinician experienced in the assessment of musculoskeletal disease. Future research may provide alternative investigative and treatment strategies to improve the accuracy of diagnosis as well as the outcome in this group of patients.
J A Thiery
Arthroscopic drainage in septic arthritides of the knee: a multicenter study.
Arthroscopy. 1989;5(1):65-9.
Abstract/Text
The results are presented of a multicenter study, conducted by questionnaire, of 46 cases of septic arthritis of the knee treated by arthroscopic drainage. This series consisted of 28 male and 16 female patients. Two patients had bilateral arthritides. The average follow-up period was 7.1 months. There were 11 cases of hematogenous arthritides, 15 arthritides secondary to puncture and infiltration, and 20 postoperative arthritides. There were 29 positive cultures (63%). After thorough articular lavage (average, 7 L) and prolonged antibiotic therapy (average 2 months) there were 36 bacteriological cures (78.3%), five failures (10.9%) due to persistent articular sepsis, and five recurrences of the infection (10.9%) after an initial remission. Five infectious flare-ups recovered secondarily, four recovered after repeated arthroscopy and one recovered after synovial centesis. The rate of cure after this second therapeutic attempt was 89.2%. Different parameters were used in evaluating the quality of the results: the etiology of the arthritis, the causal germ, and the delay prior to arthroscopy. Arthroscopic drainage is a method that has proved effective, with minimal morbidity, in attempts to cure septic arthritis of the knee, particularly in cases of hematogenous arthritis. This method could also be effective in total arthroplasties of septic knees.
