Septic arthritis occurs due to the infection of joints caused by microbes like bacteria, virus and fungi. The most common microbes that cause septic arthritis are bacteria while virus and fungi may be rarely involved. Septic arthritis is also known as infectious arthritis.
Symptoms of septic arthritis
The signs and symptoms of septic arthritis include fever and chills. You may experience severe pain in the infected joint particularly in the course of movement of that joint. Symptoms also include stiffness, redness, swelling and warmth around the area of the joint involved.
Severe pain may not be felt by people undertaking medications for other forms of arthritis, as those medications will hide fever and pain.
Large joints like your knees, ankles, elbows, and hips are the most commonly affected joints while joints like that of back, head and neck may be involved only in rare cases.
The joints of your arms and legs are most commonly affected by septic arthritis. In rare cases other joints, such as those in your back, neck and head, may be affected. Rare microbes like that of Brucella spp can infect atypical joints like the sacroiliac joints.
When can you seek medical advice?
If you have the above-mentioned signs and symptoms then you can make an appointment with your doctor. You should consult your doctor right away, if you possess an elevated risk of infection and you experience the signs and symptoms of infection like chills and fever. Timely treatment can avoid the spread of infection and reduce joint damage.
How is septic arthritis diagnosed?
During your meeting with the doctor, he will conduct a complete examination. He will ask you some questions regarding your signs and symptoms. He will also enquire in relation to any recent infections. This data helps your doctor to get some clues regarding the origin of your infection.
To find out the exact bacterium that has caused the infection, your doctor will take samples of the synovial fluid i.e. the fluid inside the joint. Your doctor may take samples of synovial fluid by inserting a needle (aspiration) into your joint. Usually the synovial fluid will look thick and clear. If there is a bacterial infection there will be changes in the color, volume, consistency and constitution of the synovial fluid. Your medical practitioner will then examine the joint fluid. He will then send the fluid to laboratory for analysis and tests in order to find out which organism is responsible for the infection.
Your medical practitioner may suggest blood tests to find out whether bacteria are found in the blood stream. In certain cases, X-rays and other imaging tests may be suggested.