bacterial arthritis

bacterial arthritis

An acute arthropathy characterised by painful swelling of a joint, fever, increased WBCs, local heat and inability to move the joint. Early, the joint is distended with pus, which may be accompanied by aseptic necrosis of subchondral bone; if untreated, the synovial space may be replaced by granulation tissue and fibrosis, resulting in bony ankylosis.
 
Agents
Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Neisseria.

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bacterial arthritis

Pyogenic arthritis Rheumatology An acute arthropathy characterized by painful swelling of a joint, fever, ↑ WBCs, local heat and inability to move the joint; early, the joint is distended with pus, which may be accompanied by aseptic necrosis of subchondral bone; if untreated, the synovial space may be replaced by granulation tissue and fibrosis, resulting in bony ankylosis Agents Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Gonococcus.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

bacterial arthritis

Infection of joints associated with fever and other systemic symptoms. Joint destruction occurs if the infection is not treated expeditiously. Removal of pus from the joint is necessary. In older or immunosuppressed patients, the most common causative organism is Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococci, anaerobes, or gram-negative bacteria are found in prosthetic joint infections. Gonococci and Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete that causes Lyme disease, differ from other forms of bacteria that cause joint infection in that they tend to affect younger and more active people. Synonym: acute suppurative arthritis; septic arthritis

See also: arthritis

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