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Review
. 2025 Jan 2;19(1):14-19.
doi: 10.1177/18632521241311302. eCollection 2025 Feb.

Diagnosis and management of septic arthritis: A current concepts review

Ignacio Sanpera  1 , Marta Salom  2 , Cristina Alves  3 , Deborah Eastwood  4
Affiliations
Review

Diagnosis and management of septic arthritis: A current concepts review

Ignacio Sanpera et al. J Child Orthop. .

Abstract

Correct diagnosis and treatment of septic arthritis (SA) are essential to achieve satisfactory results and avoid lifelong consequences. Diagnosing septic arthritis is not always easy, which is why new biomarkers have been sought. Another difficulty in diagnosis is the increase in septic arthritis due to Kingella Kingae, which does not show the same signs and symptoms as classic Staphylococcus aureus infections. Increasingly, magnetic resonance imaging plays a more fundamental role in diagnosing septic arthritis, and many studies are focused on this line, especially for the study of associated pathologies. Numerous studies have been published on less invasive treatments for septic arthritis, although the evidence suggests that the results should be taken cautiously. Although most of the published studies focus on the hip and knee, there have also been recent publications on SA in the upper limb, foot, and ankle. Finally, the literature also pays attention to SA in young children due to its different etiology and the greater difficulties in its diagnosis.

Keywords: Septic arthritis; diagnosis; management.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
MRI pictures (STIR sequence) show hip septic arthritis associated with osteomyelitis of the femoral neck.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
STIR sequence MRI shows an isolated MRI with intraarticular effusion and increased uptake of the sin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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