Learn About Septic Arthritis
View Main Condition: Arthritis
Septic arthritis is inflammation of a joint due to a bacterial or fungal infection. Septic arthritis that is due to the bacteria that cause gonorrhea, has different symptoms and is called gonococcal arthritis.
Bacterial arthritis; Non-gonococcal bacterial arthritis
Septic arthritis develops when bacteria or other tiny disease-causing organisms (microorganisms) spread through the blood to a joint. It may also occur when the joint is directly infected with a microorganism from an injury or during surgery. Joints that are commonly affected are the knee and hip.
Most cases of acute septic arthritis are caused by Staphylococcus or Streptococcus bacteria.
Chronic septic arthritis (which is less common) is caused by organisms including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Candida albicans.
The following conditions increase your risk for septic arthritis:
- Artificial joint implants
- Bacterial infection somewhere else in your body
- Presence of bacteria in your blood
- Chronic illness or disease (such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and sickle cell disease)
- Intravenous (IV) or injection drug or medicine use
- Medicines that suppress your immune system
- Recent joint injury
- Recent joint arthroscopy or other joint surgery
Septic arthritis may be seen at any age. In children, it occurs most often in those younger than 3 years. The hip is often the site of infection in infants. Most cases are caused by the bacteria group B Streptococcus. Another common cause is Haemophilus influenza, especially if the child has not been vaccinated for this bacterium.
Symptoms usually come on quickly. There is a fever and joint swelling that is usually in just one joint. There is also intense joint pain, which gets worse with movement.
Symptoms in newborns or infants:
- Crying when an infected joint is moved (for example, during diaper changes)
- Fever
- Not able to move the limb with the infected joint (pseudoparalysis)
- Fussiness
Symptoms in children and adults:
- Not able to move the limb with the infected joint (pseudoparalysis)
- Severe joint pain
- Joint swelling
- Joint redness
- Fever
Chills may occur, but are uncommon.
Antibiotics are used to treat the infection.
Resting, raising the joint above heart level, and using cool compresses may help relieve pain. After the joint starts to heal, exercising it can help speed up recovery.
If joint (synovial) fluid builds up quickly due to the infection, a needle may be inserted into the joint to withdraw (aspirate) the fluid. Severe cases may need surgery to drain the infected joint fluid and irrigate (wash) the joint.
CHU Gabriel Montpied
Daniel Wendling practices in Clermont-ferrand, France. Mr. Wendling is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Septic Arthritis. His top areas of expertise are Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, Rhizomelic Pseudopolyarthritis, and Osteotomy.
Robert Inman practices in Toronto, Canada. Mr. Inman is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Septic Arthritis. His top areas of expertise are Ankylosing Spondylitis, Axial Spondyloarthritis (AxSpA), Arthritis, and Reactive Arthritis.
Sakir Ahmed practices in Bhubaneshwar, India. Ahmed is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Septic Arthritis. Their top areas of expertise are Reactive Arthritis, Infectious Arthritis, Septic Arthritis, Endoscopy, and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI).
Recovery is good with prompt antibiotic treatment. If treatment is delayed, permanent joint damage may result.
Contact your provider if you develop symptoms of septic arthritis.
Preventive (prophylactic) antibiotics may be helpful for people at high risk.
Summary: Differentiating between septic arthritis and other causes of joint inflammation in pediatric patients is challenging and of the utmost importance because septic arthritis requires surgical debridement as part of the treatment regimen. The current gold standard to diagnose septic arthritis in children is a positive synovial fluid culture; however, joint cultures may take several days to return. If ...
Summary: The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) works to treat invasive infections due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in children. It will also learn about the safety of TMP-SMX in the treatment of children with invasive MRSA infections. The main questions it aims to answer are: -Is TMP-SMX effective at successfully treating children wi...
Published Date: May 12, 2025
Published By: Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor in Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, New York, NY. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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Lebron DA, Stang AT, Cook PP. Bacterial arthritis. In: Firestein GS, McInnes IB, Koretzky GA, Mikuls TR, Neogi T, O'Dell JR, eds. Firestein & Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 112.
Osmon DR. Infections of bursae, joints, and bones. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 251.
Shah SS. Septic arthritis. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, et al, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 22nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 726.