Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Primary septic arthritis of the acromio-clavicular joint: case report and review of literature

  • Trauma Surgery
  • Published:
Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Primary septic arthritis of the Acromio clavicular joint is an uncommon disorder and is rarely seen even in an immunocompromised individual. We report a case of primary septic arthritis of the acromio-clavicular (A-C) joint caused by Staphylococcus aureus without any predisposing factors. The patient was admitted with left shoulder pain, restricted movements and fever. Laboratory parameters showed high C-reactive protein, raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate and leucocytosis. Blood cultures were positive for Staphylococcus-aureus. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using Gadolinium enhancement revealed marked effusion in the A-C joint. Aspiration from the A-C joint revealed a heavy growth of Staphylococcus-aureus. The patient was successfully treated with 8 weeks of appropriate antibiotics with complete resolution of infection and return to full function.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Laktasić-Zerjavić N, Babić-Naglić D, Curković B, Potocki K, Soldo-Juresa D (2005) Septic acromioclavicular arthritis in a patient with diabetes mellitus. Coll Antropol 29(2):743–746

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Blankstein A, Amsallem JL, Rubinstein E, Horoszowski H, Farin I (1985) Septic arthritis of the acromioclavicular joint. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 103(6):417–418

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Zimmermann B 3rd, Erickson AD, Mikolich DJ (1989) Septic acromioclavicular arthritis and osteomyelitis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Arthritis Rheum 32(9):1175–1178

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Hammel JM, Kwon N (2005) Septic arthritis of the acromioclavicular joint clinical communications. J Emerg Med 29(4):425–427

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Murdoch DM, McDonald JR (2007) Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare cellulitis occurring with septic arthritis after joint injection. A case report. BMC Infectious Dis 7:9. http://www/biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/7/9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Dubost JJ, Soubrier M, Sauvezie B (2000) Pyogenic arthritis in adults. Joint Bone Spine 67(1):11–21

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Stimmler MM (1996) Infectious arthritis: tailoring initial treatment to clinical findings. Postgrad Med 99(4):127–131, 135–139

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Dubost JJ, Soubrier M, DeChamps J, Ristori JM, Bussiere JL, Sauvezie B (2002) No changes in the distribution of organisms responsible for septic arthritis over a 20 year period. Ann Rheum Dis 61(3):267–269

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Zicat B, Rahme DM, Swaraj K, Qurashi S, Loneragan R, van der Wall H (2006) Septic arthritis of the Acromioclavicualr joint Tc-99m leukocyte imaging. Clin Nucl Med 31(3):145–146

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Widman DS, Craig JG, van Holsbeeck MT (2001) Sonographic detection, evaluation and aspiration of infected acromioclavicular joints. Skeletal Radiol 30:388–392

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Greenspan A, Tehranzadeh J (2001) Imaging of infectious arthritis. Radiol Clin North Am 39(2):267–276

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Blankstein A, Ganel A, Givon U, Dudkeiwicz I, Perry M, Diamant L, Chechick A (2005) Ultrasonography as a diagnostic modality in acromioclavicular joint pathologies. Isr Med Assoc J 7(1):28–30

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Lee SK, Suh KJ, Kim YW et al (1999) Septic arthritis versus transient synovitis at MR imaging: preliminary assessment with signal intensity alterations in bone marrow. Radiology 211(2):459–465

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kothari NA, Pelchovitz DJ, Meyer JS (2001) Imaging of musculoskeletal infections. Radiol Clin North Am 39(4):653–671

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Hopkins KL, Li KC, Bergman G (1995) Gadolinium-DTPA-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of musculoskeletal infectious processes. Skeletal Radiol 24(5):325–330

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Kumar P, Smith I (2007) Septic arthritis of acromio-clavicular joint. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol. doi:10.1007/s00590-007-0248-7

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to William Y. C. Loh.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Iyengar, K.P., Gudena, R., Chitgopkar, S.D. et al. Primary septic arthritis of the acromio-clavicular joint: case report and review of literature. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 129, 83–86 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-008-0747-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-008-0747-y

Keywords

Navigation