2004 Volume 28 Issue 3 Pages 645-649
The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical results of arthroscopic debri- dement with continuous irrigation in patients with septic arthritis of the shoulder. Eight patients (three men, five women) with septic arthritis of the shoulder treated with a combination of arthroscopic debridement, continuous irrigation and antibiotic therapy were followed-up for more than one year. Their average age was fifty-five years old (range: twenty five-seventy five). The causes of infection were injection of the intrasubacromial bursa in four cases, puncture of the electromyography needle in one and unknown in three. The S. aureus was cultured in four cases and the S. epidermidis in three. The follow-up period averaged thirty months (range: twelve to one hundred twenty one months). Recurrence of the infection did not occur in any case. The averaged shoulder score of the Japanese Orthopedic Association had increased from 25.2 points before operation to 87.1 points after operation. All but one had no motion pain and severe contracture of the shoulder joint. In our radiographic finding, two cases revealed a progression of the osteoarthritis of the shoulder. An arthroscopic debridement with continuous irrigation was an useful method in patients with septic arthritis of the shoulder.
