Diagnosis Of Acute Septic Arthritis Research Articles

Perfusion Changes in Acute Septic Arthritis of the Hip Joint During Infancy Using Doppler USG.

To quantitatively assess vascularity changes of acute septic hips in infants using Doppler ultrasonography. To compare these findings with asymptomatic hips, and establish a correlation for accurate diagnosis between these findings. In this prospective case-control study, we included all children under 1year of age with a diagnosis of acute septic arthritis of the hip in the case group. For the control group, we enrolled apparently healthy, full-term neonates and infants not affected with any hip pathology. Doppler ultrasound of the medial femoral circumflex artery of the hip joint was done using a single Phillips HDI 5000 sonography machine. Following parameters were studied: peak systolic velocity (PSV), resistive index (RI), pulsatility index (PI), and systolic to diastolic ratio (SD ratio). Doppler signals and spectral waveforms were obtainable in 100% of hips in both groups. A statistically significant difference was found between the cases and controls with respect to their PSVs, RIs, PIs and SD ratios. The most striking difference was found between the PSVs of the two groups, whose mean was 6.18 in the control group and 11.8 in the case group. No significant correlation between age/gender and any of the 4 parameters was found. Doppler parameters are useful in raising suspicion of onset in the diagnosis of septic arthritis. No correlation was found between age or gender and any parameter in control group. These baseline values can be held valid for all children below the age of 7months.

Developments in diagnosis and treatment of paediatric septic arthritis

Acute septic arthritis in children is an orthopaedic emergency. A delay in diagnosis and inappropriate treatment can result in devastating damage to the joint with lifelong disability as a consequence. The clinical presentation can be a diagnostic challenge, especially in young children. A recent systematic review showed that joint tenderness and fever are important signals of septic arthritis. Ultrasound is helpful in detecting the presence of a joint effusion. Plain radiographs may show bone changes but magnetic resonance imaging is the most reliable imaging study for detecting concomitant osteomyelitis. The diagnosis of acute septic arthritis is highly suggestive when pus is aspirated from the joint, in case of a positive culture or a positive gram stain of the joint fluid, or if there is a white blood-cell count in the joint fluid of more than 50000/mm3. Staphylococcus aureus is the most commonly cultured organism. Recent systematic reviews have identified the most effective drainage techniques, including needle aspiration, arthroscopy and arthrotomy, depending on the affected joint. After the drainage procedure it is important to monitor the clinical and laboratory outcomes. Additional drainage procedures may be necessary in select cases.

A Retrospective Review of Native Septic Arthritis in Patients: Can We Diagnose Based on Laboratory Values?

IntroductionThe accurate diagnosis of acute septic arthritis is essential to initiating appropriate treatment and minimizing potential cartilage damage. A synovial fluid cell count of 50,000 cells/mm3 has been used as a diagnostic cutoff for acute septic arthritis, although data supporting this is lacking. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of synovial cell counts to predict septic arthritis in patients with symptomatic native joints.MethodsA retrospective review was performed of patients who were evaluated for septic arthritis at a single institution with the use of synovial fluid analysis and adjunctive lab tests. Exclusion criteria included history of a total joint arthroplasty of the affected joint or immunocompromised state. A true infection was considered on the basis of positive or negative synovial aspirate cultures. We evaluated the synovial cell count, synovial polymorphonuclear cell percentile (% neutrophils), serum white blood cell (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in order to determine their association and predictive power in a true infection.ResultsOf the 65 patients included in the study, 40 (61.5%) had a positive culture for septic arthritis and 25 (38.5%) had negative cultures. Patients with positive cultures had a larger median % neutrophils than patients with negative cultures (median: 93 vs. median: 86, P=0.041). They also tended to have higher serum CRP levels compared to negative culture patients (median: 142.30 vs. 34.20, P=0.051). No outcomes were independently highly effective in discriminating between patient groups (area under the curve (AUC) ≤ 0.67). There was no significant difference between the synovial cell counts in patients with culture positive septic arthritis and patients with negative cultures (median: 32435 vs 35385, P = 0.94). ConclusionPatients with culture proven septic arthritis had larger % neutrophils. However, there were no other statistically significant differences between patient groups regarding ESR, CRP, WBC, or cell count aspiration at the time of diagnosis. No synovial cell count level was highly effective in discriminating patients with a positive culture for septic arthritis from patients with negative cultures.

Pilot study of a novel serum mRNA gene panel for diagnosis of acute septic arthritis

BACKGROUNDSeptic arthritis is an orthopedic emergency requiring immediate surgical intervention. Current diagnostic standard of care is an invasive joint aspiration. Aspirations provide information about the inflammatory cells in the sample within a few hours, but there is often ambiguity about whether the source is infectious (e.g. bacterial) or non-infectious (e.g. gout). Cultures can take days to result, so decisions about surgery are often made with incomplete data. Novel diagnostics are thus needed. The “Sepsis MetaScore” (SMS) is an 11-mRNA host immune blood signature that can distinguish between infectious and non-infectious acute inflammation. It has been validated in multiple cohorts across heterogeneous clinical settings.AIMTo study whether the SMS holds diagnostic validity in determining the etiology of acute arthritis.METHODSWe conducted a blinded, prospective, non-interventional clinical study of the SMS. All patients undergoing work-up for a septic primary joint were enrolled. Patients proceeded through the normal standard-of-care pathway, including joint aspiration and inflammatory labs [white blood cell (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP)]. Venous blood was also drawn into PAX gene RNA-stabilizing tubes and mRNAs were measured using Nano String nCounter™. SMS was calculated blinded to clinical results.RESULTSA total of 20 samples were included, of which 11 were infected based on aspiration or intra-operative cultures. The SMS had an area under the ROC curve (AUROC) of 0.87 for separating infectious from non-infectious conditions. For comparison, the AUROCs for ESR = 0.58, CRP = 0.6, and WBC = 0.59. At 100% sensitivity for infection, the specificity of the SMS was 40%, meaning nearly half of non-septic patients could have been ruled out for further intervention.CONCLUSIONIn this pilot study, SMS showed a high level of diagnostic accuracy in predicting septic joints compared to other diagnostic biomarkers. This quick blood test could be an important tool for early, accurate identification of acute septic joints and need for emergent surgery, improving clinical care and healthcare spending.

Role of quantitative c-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate for evaluation and management of acute osteoarticular infections in pediatric patients

Background: Acute bone and joint infections in children are at times difficult to diagnose and pose serious consequences if not diagnosed and treated in time. We conducted a prospective and observational study from September 2016 to July 2018. Aims and Objects: Our study included 30 children between the ages of 3 months and 14 years, with suspected acute osteoarticular infection, with a predetermined series of ESR, CRP measurements. Material and Methods: 21 patient had a diagnosis of acute septic arthritis (SA) (70%) and 9 patient had acute osteomyelitis (OM) (30%). Boys were predominantly affected (63% boys as compared to 37 % girls), and the mean age was 6.65 years. The average ESR on day of admission, 3rd, 10th, 28th day and two month was 35 mm, 41 mm, 28mm, 18mm and 13mm at one hour respectively. Average CRP on day of admission, 3rd, 10th, 28th day and two month was 80mg/l, 54mg/l, 17.6mg/l, 8mg/l, 5.5mg/l respectively. Results: The observed peaks of the ESR reached on day 3 and peak in CRP titre generally was seen on day of admission. After peaking, ESR started a slow descent; the

Role of high resolution ultrasonography in diagnosing septic hip arthritis in premature neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit

AimThe aim of this study is to evaluate the role of high resolution ultrasonography (HRUS) of the hip in premature neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in diagnosis of septic hip arthritis. Patients and methodsThis prospective study was done for twenty premature neonates having clinical and laboratory findings compatible with the diagnosis of acute septic arthritis. They were subjected to HRUS of the hip as well as US-guided aspiration and analysis of synovial fluid. ResultsHip ultrasonography showed synovial fluid containing echoes in twelve patients and was clear in six patients. Joint capsule was thickened in fourteen patients. Seventeen patients had sonographic features of septic arthritis. The sensitivity of HRUS was 93.8%, specificity 50%, positive predictive value 88.2%, negative predictive value 66.7% and the accuracy was 85%. ConclusionHRUS is beneficial in early diagnosis of septic hip arthritis in premature neonates admitted to the NICU. It is an easy, available and rapid procedure.

Osteo-Articular Infections in Newborns: Diagnosis and Treatment

Osteoarticular infections, although uncommon, represent a severe condition in neonates. Infections in newborns are largely of an acute nature, transmitted by hematogenous means. The most frequently observed etiological agents are: Staphylococcus aureus, Gram negative and group B Streptococcus spp. In the majority of acases the metaphyses of the long bone are the most commonly implicated sites, although infection may spread to the contiguous epiphysis and joint in neonates. Diagnosis of acute septic arthritis and osteomyelitis may be hindered, especially in neonates, due to the manifestation of less clear-cut characteristic symptoms and signs compared to in children. When osteomyelitis is suspected, imaging techniques used in association with blood and tissue cultures are the most reliable diagnostic tests. Antimicrobial treatment should be administered for 3-4 weeks, initially intravenously, later switching to oral medication. Surgery is indicated to drain acute abscesses or when no improvement is achieved following antibiotic treatment.

Suppurative Arthritis of the Hip Joint in Infancy

Sixteen cases of suppurative arthritis of the hip in fifteen infants who had had femoral venipunctures are reported. Twelve of the fifteen infants had neonatal jaundice. Although bacteriological evidence to prove the causal relationship between the venipuncture and hip-joint sepsis was not available, the circumstantial evidence was strongly suggestive. The findings in this study emphasized that the diagnosis of acute septic arthritis in the acutely ill infant is still frequently missed and that failure to make a prompt diagnosis results in irreparable damage to the hip. It was concluded that femoral venipuncture should be avoided so far as possible and that any infant who has had femoral venipuncture should be closely observed for evidence of septic arthritis of the hip and septicemia.