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Abstract

Septic arthritis has an incidence between 4 and 29 cases per 100,000 person-years and is an orthopedic emergency. It often affects a single knee and is most commonly caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Prompt synovial fluid analysis including Gram stain and culture, followed by early empiric antibiotic treatment and drainage of the affected joint, is important to avoid the debility that can result from the rapid destruction of the joint by bacteria and other microorganisms. Antibiotic coverage is typically narrowed based on culture sensitivities and is continued for a total of 2–4 weeks.

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Correspondence to Paul M. Scholten M.D. .

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Scholten, P.M. (2018). Septic Knee. In: Anitescu, M., Benzon, H., Wallace, M. (eds) Challenging Cases and Complication Management in Pain Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60072-7_46

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60072-7_46

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