Joint infection

Septic arthritis
Classification and external resources
Specialty	rheumatology
ICD-10	M00-M03
ICD-9-CM	711.0
DiseasesDB	29523
MedlinePlus	000430
eMedicine	med/3394 [1]
Patient UK	Septic arthritis
MeSH	D001170
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Septic arthritis, also known as infectious arthritis or joint infection, is the purulent invasion of a joint by an infectious agent which produces arthritis. People with artificial joints are more at risk than the general population but have slightly different symptoms, are infected with different organisms and require different treatment. Septic arthritis is considered a medical emergency. If untreated, it may destroy the joint in a period of days. The infection may also spread to other parts of the body.

The term "suppurative arthritis" is a near synonym for septic arthritis. ("Suppurative" refers to the production of pus, without necessarily implying sepsis.)

ICD-10 uses the term "pyogenic arthritis". Pyogenic also refers to the production of pus.

Reactive arthritis refers to arthritis caused by an immune consequence of an infection, but not directly attributable to the infection itself.

Septic arthritis is usually caused by bacteria, but may be caused by viral, mycobacterial, and fungal pathogens as well. A broader term is "infectious arthritis", which describes arthritis caused by any infectious organism. Viruses can cause arthritis, but it can be hard to determine if the arthritis is directly due to the virus or if the arthritis is reactive.

Septic/suppurative arthritis and "bacterial arthritis" are sometimes considered equivalent, but there are exceptions. For example, Borrelia burgdorferi can cause infectious arthritis, but is not associated with suppurative arthritis.

Septic arthritis can cause pain with any movement of the affected joint. Therefore, those affected by septic arthritis will often refuse to use the extremity and prefer to hold joint rigidly. Other common signs and symptoms are joint swelling, redness, and warmth.

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Wikipedia