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Infectious Arthritis

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Abstract

Infectious arthritis, due to viral, bacterial, or fungal etiologies, is a common cause of joint inflammation and can vary in clinical presentation based on the particular infectious etiology and the host characteristics. Though bacterial organisms are the most common and usually present with a monoarticular or oligoarticular arthritis, viral arthritis predominantly presents with polyarticular involvement and can mimic inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis. The most important aspect of evaluation is to perform an arthrocentesis in order to identify the organism, or in cases of viruses, sending the appropriate serologic workup. Following this, antibiotic treatment should be tailored to the correct organism, and additional measures such as drainage should be considered. Prompt evaluation is important to prevent long-term sequelae of infection and inflammation leading to permanent joint damage.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northwell Health Department of Rheumatology, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, NY, USA

    Nicola Berman

  2. Hofstra School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY, USA

    Nicola Berman

  3. NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Nicola Berman

  4. NYU School of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA

    Brian D. Golden

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  1. Nicola Berman
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  2. Brian D. Golden
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Correspondence to Nicola Berman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Petros Efthimiou

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Berman, N., Golden, B.D. (2020). Infectious Arthritis. In: Efthimiou, P. (eds) Absolute Rheumatology Review. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23022-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23022-7_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-23021-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-23022-7

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