An update on recent progress of the epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of acute septic arthritis: a review

Abstract

Acute septic arthritis is on the rise among all patients. Acute septic arthritis must be extensively assessed, identified, and treated to prevent fatal consequences. Antimicrobial therapy administered intravenously has long been considered the gold standard for treating acute osteoarticular infections. According to clinical research, parenteral antibiotics for a few days, followed by oral antibiotics, are safe and effective for treating infections without complications. This article focuses on bringing physicians up-to-date on the most recent findings and discussions about the epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of acute septic arthritis. In recent years, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant, particularly aggressive bacterial species has highlighted the need for more research to enhance treatment approaches and develop innovative diagnosis methods and drugs that might combat better in all patients. This article aims to furnish radiologists, orthopaedic surgeons, and other medical practitioners with contemporary insights on the subject matter and foster collaborative efforts to improve patient outcomes. This review represents the initial comprehensive update encompassing patients across all age groups.

Keywords: Pathogenic microorganism; antibiotics; arthroscopy; epidemiology; septic arthritis.

Figure 1

Compares the diagnostic value among mNGS, blood culture, and synovial fluid culture. (A total of 130 samples from 92 patients with osteoarticular infection account for the sensitivity of mNGS (Welling et al., 2018), while others were derived from another study altogether, 183 adult patients with septic arthritis (Kennedy et al., 2015)).

Figure 2

Outcomes of arthritis therapy of the hands and wrists (subgroup analysis). X-axis: study outcome parameters. Y-axis: number of corresponding episodes with proportions and absolute number of cases (Ross, 2017).