Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine clinical findings of septic arthritis of
the elbow joint in a series of immunocompetent patients and to evaluate the outcomes
after arthroscopic treatment.
Methods
Between October 2006 and January 2012, 11 patients with septic arthritis of the elbow
underwent arthroscopic surgery. History, laboratory findings, and radiologic findings
were reviewed. Functional outcomes were evaluated using the Mayo Elbow Performance
Score (MEPS).
Results
The study included 5 men and 6 women with a mean age of 45 years. An underlying medical
disease was present in 1 patient (diabetes). Staphylococcus aureus was the most common organism identified (5 patients). There was 1 reoperation and
no complications related to the arthroscopic procedure. Eight of 11 patients had excellent
results assessed by MEPS at the final follow-up. The mean MEPS was 94.5 at the final
follow-up.
Conclusions
Septic arthritis of the elbow joint can occur in otherwise healthy patients without
pre-existing elbow disease. Arthroscopic irrigation and synovectomy are safe and effective
in patients with septic arthritis and result in good functional outcomes.
Level of Evidence
Level IV, therapeutic case series.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 28, 2014
Accepted:
February 13,
2014
Received:
July 24,
2013
Footnotes
The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest in the authorship and publication of this article.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- ErrataArthroscopyVol. 30Issue 8
- PreviewIn the article “Clinical Results After Arthroscopic Treatment for Septic Arthritis of the Elbow Joint” published in the June 2014 issue (Arthroscopy 2014;30:673-678), the second author's name was spelled Bilaris instead of Biraris. The corrected byline is Jun-Gyu Moon, M.D., Ph.D., Sandeep Biraris, M.D., Wong-Kyo Jeong, M.D., Ph.D., and Jung-Hoon Kim, M.D.
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