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Case Reports
. 2023 May 15;11(5):e7334.
doi: 10.1002/ccr3.7334. eCollection 2023 May.

Acute arthritis following SARS-CoV-2 infection: About two cases

Mouna Brahem  1 , Olfa Jomaa  1 , Sondess Arfa  2 , Rihab Sarraj  1 , Rami Tekaya  1 , Olfa Berriche  2 , Haifa Hachfi  1 , Mohamed Younes  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Acute arthritis following SARS-CoV-2 infection: About two cases

Mouna Brahem et al. Clin Case Rep. .

Abstract

Joint involvement in COVID-19 may occur at different stages of the disease and maybe represented by non-specific arthralgia or by acute arthritis. We report two cases of COVID-19 infection that were complicated by postviral reactive arthritis. Case 1: A 47-year-old male was presented 20 days after a COVID-19 infection with acute right knee arthritis. On biologic data, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were normal, and immunologic data were negative. A joint puncture was performed showing a turbid fluid. Testing for microcrystals was negative, as well as the synovial fluid culture. An infectious investigation was conducted, which was negative. The patient's complaints improved significantly, with analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). Case 2: A 33-year-old female presented with acute left knee arthritis evolving for 48 h, free of fever, after a COVID-19 infection treated 15 days ago. On examination, besides knee arthritis, the osteoarticular examination was normal. A biological inflammatory syndrome was noted in laboratory tests. A yellow fluid with multiple PNN was detected in the joint fluid aspiration, with a negative culture. The patient was treated by analgesics and NSAID. The follow-up was highlighted by the arthritis resolution. Conclusion: Both of our cases are consistent with what has already been reported in the literature confirming the development of PostCOVID arthritis and strengthen the impending necessity of wider studies to identify rheumatologic manifestations in the short- and long-terms after surviving COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID‐19; SARS‐CoV2; acute arthritis; reactive arthritis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
A picture of the swollen right knee of the first case.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
A Picture of the aspirated joint fluid.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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