Septic arthritis.

Abstract

Septic arthritis has increased in incidence in the United States in the past two decades, and increasingly affects an older population with a greater burden of chronic illness and a higher risk for drug-resistant organisms. Successful management depends on a high diagnostic suspicion, empiric antibiotic treatment, and joint drainage. A bacteriologic diagnosis is more likely with inoculation into blood culture bottles than plating on solid media. As MRSA increases in prevalence in the community, empiric anti-biotic regimens increasingly need to be active against MRSA.