What is the definition of septic arthritis in a native knee?

Authors: Douglas Dennis, Ali Parsa, José Ricardo Pécora

RECOMMENDATION: Native septic arthritis of the knee is a clinical diagnosis supplemented by relevant laboratory data. Signs of septic arthritis include painful effusion, limited range of motion and warmth. Elevated serum inflammatory markers, particularly C-reactive protein (CRP), synovial white blood cell (WBC) counts (50,000 cells/mm3), polymorphonuclear (PMN) cell count percentages (> 90%) and purulent appearance of the synovial fluid indicate a high likelihood of septic arthritis.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Moderate

DELEGATE VOTE: Agree: 92%, Disagree: 7%, Abstain: 1% (Super Majority, Strong Consensus)

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