DIAGNOSTICS AND TREATMENT OF PURULENT ARTHRITIS OF THE STERNOCLAVICULAR JOINT

Abstract

Summary. Inflammatory lesion of the sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) is a rare disease that requires surgical treatment. Traditional radiography reveals osteolysis and osteosclerosis, however, at the onset of the disease, such changes are absent. Difficulties in diagnosing this disease require further study of the problem and the development of new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches.
 Aim of the work: to study the role of sonography in the diagnosis of purulent arthritis of SCJ and the choice of treatment tactics.
 Materials and methods. Prospective single-center study of 28 cases of acute nonspecific arthritis of SCJ. The patients were divided into 2 groups: the first included patients who received drug therapy, the second included patients subject to surgical treatment.
 Results and discussion. Ultrasound scanning of SCJ identified 3 sonographic variants of the lesion: exudative, destructive with synovial hyperperfusion, and destructive with synovial hypoperfusion.
 The duration of hospital stay in both groups did not differ statistically: 12 (12; 13.5) vs 14 (12; 14) days, p = 0.194.
 Analysis of long-term results in patients of the first group established the progression of the disease with the development of osteomyelitis or recurrence of arthritis in 3 cases (30 %). Among the patients of the second group, no complications or recurrence were detected during the indicated observation period.
 Conclusion. Sonography is diagnostically significant in the diagnosis of SCJ arthritis. It allows you to determine the group of patients subject to mandatory surgical correction. Intravenous drug addiction associated with bacteremia is a predictor of poor drug treatment outcomes and an indication for active surgical tactics.