Abstract
Septic arthritis is an important but infrequent complication of Salmonella infection. We describe a case of Salmonella oranienburg in septic arthritis of the hip. The patient was a 14-year-old girl with a fever of 38.3°C and had severe pain in her left hip, but no diarrhea. She had had symptoms consistent with a common cold for about 1 month. She presented to us on the first day the pain in her left hip appeared. The radiograph showed no sign of infection, but signal changes in her left hip were seen on MR images. An aspiration of the left hip joint yielded yellow turbid fluid, and from which S. oranienburg was isolated. We administered the antibiotics imipenem, piperacilin and panipenem, and did open aspiration of the joint twice. After operation, swelling and pain was improved in her left hip. At the 8-month follow up, she could walk without pain.
The possibility of Salmonella infection should be considered in the diagnosis of septic arthritis.
