Tubal Irrigation of Supprative Arthritis of the Knee Joint

Abstract

Supprative arthritis in adult represents a diagnostic and therapeutic problem. The purpose of this study is to describe the method of treatment and the results. Seven patients with supprative arthritis of the knee joint were treated. The patients ranged in age from fourty seven to eighty four years with an average age of sixty-four years. Five patients were male and two were female.
The mean interval between various predisposing factors and onset of symptoms was 4.4 days. Pain, swelling, fever and impossible to walk were most prevalent complaints. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was accelerated in five patients and the leucocyte count was elevated in four patients. The organisms cultured from the joint fluid were staphyrococcus aureus and streptococcus pneumoniae. The possible predisposing factors are intraarticular injection of corticosteroids, postoperative infection and systemic administration of corticosteroids.
All cases were treated with tubal irrigation with the antibiotic saline. The Trocar Catheter was used and it was soft and flexible and did not destroy the articular cartilage. The joint that contained pus and nectotic debris was washed out with much saline till washings were clear. All patients made an eventful recovery from their infection.
Adequate treatment of supprative arthritis is dependent of early suspiction, diagnosis, identification of the organism, prompt institution of adequate antibiotical regimen and tubal irrigation with antibiotic saline.