eMedicine Specialties > Rheumatology > Infectious Arthritis

Nongonococcal Infectious Arthritis: Follow-up

Author: Edward Dwyer, MD, Department of Medicine, Assistant Professor, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Oct 7, 2009

Follow-up

Further Inpatient Care

  • Admit patients with infectious arthritis for parenteral antibacterial therapy and daily arthrocentesis.
  • Perform surgical debridement if no response to medical therapy is observed.

Deterrence/Prevention

  • Patients with prosthetic joints require antibacterial prophylaxis before surgical procedures. This prophylaxis is similar to the treatment indicated for endocarditis prophylaxis in patients with valvular heart disease.

Complications

  • Irreversible loss of joint function may result if the condition is not treated immediately and for an appropriate duration.

Prognosis

  • Morbidity and mortality rates are increased in elderly individuals and individuals with preexisting medical conditions.

Patient Education

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Failure to consider an infectious etiology in monoarticular arthritic flares in the setting of chronic inflammatory polyarthritis
 


More on Nongonococcal Infectious Arthritis

Overview: Nongonococcal Infectious Arthritis
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Nongonococcal Infectious Arthritis
Treatment & Medication: Nongonococcal Infectious Arthritis
Follow-up: Nongonococcal Infectious Arthritis
References

References

  1. Chambers HF. Community-associated MRSA--resistance and virulence converge. N Engl J Med. Apr 7 2005;352(14):1485-7. [Medline].

  2. [Best Evidence] Mathews CJ, Kingsley G, Field M, Jones A, Weston VC, Phillips M, et al. Management of septic arthritis: a systematic review. Ann Rheum Dis. Apr 2007;66(4):440-5. [Medline].

  3. Shirtliff ME, Mader JT. Acute septic arthritis. Clin Microbiol Rev. Oct 2002;15(4):527-44. [Medline].

  4. von Essen R. Culture of joint specimens in bacterial arthritis. Impact of blood culture bottle utilization. Scand J Rheumatol. 1997;26(4):293-300. [Medline].

  5. Kaandorp CJ, Krijnen P, Moens HJ, Habbema JD, van Schaardenburg D. The outcome of bacterial arthritis: a prospective community-based study. Arthritis Rheum. May 1997;40(5):884-92. [Medline].

  6. Goldenberg DL, Reed JI. Bacterial arthritis. N Engl J Med. Mar 21 1985;312(12):764-71. [Medline].

  7. Smith JW, Chalupa P, Shabaz Hasan M. Infectious arthritis: clinical features, laboratory findings and treatment. Clin Microbiol Infect. Apr 2006;12(4):309-14. [Medline].

  8. Gupta MN, Sturrock RD, Field M. A prospective 2-year study of 75 patients with adult-onset septic arthritis. Rheumatology (Oxford). Jan 2001;40(1):24-30. [Medline].

  9. Harrington JT. Mycobacterial and fungal arthritis. Curr Opin Rheumatol. Jul 1998;10(4):335-8. [Medline].

Further Reading

Keywords

bacterial arthritis, fungal arthritis, candidal arthritis, mycobacterial arthritis, septic arthritis, infectious arthritis, non-gonococcal arthritis, nongonococcal infectious arthritis, non-gonococcal infectious arthritis, infected joint prosthesis, joint prosthesis infection, staphylococcal arthritis

Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Edward Dwyer, MD, Department of Medicine, Assistant Professor, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Edward Dwyer, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha and American College of Rheumatology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Robert E Wolf, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport; Chief, Rheumatology Section, Medical Service, Overton Brooks Veterans Administration Medical Center of Shreveport
Robert E Wolf, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Rheumatology, Arthritis Foundation, and Society for Leukocyte Biology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Managing Editor

Elliot Goldberg, MD, Dean of the Western Pennsylvania Clinical Campus, Professor, Department of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine
Elliot Goldberg, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physicians, and American College of Rheumatology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Alex J Mechaber, MD, FACP, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Alex J Mechaber, MD, FACP is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, and Society of General Internal Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Herbert S Diamond, MD, Professor of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine; Chairman Emeritus, Department of Internal Medicine, Western Pennsylvania Hospital
Herbert S Diamond, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physicians, American College of Rheumatology, American Medical Association, and Phi Beta Kappa
Disclosure: medifocus Honoraria Review panel membership; health dialogs Honoraria Consulting; West Penn Allegheny Health System None Board membership

 
 
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