Wiener klinische Wochenschrift
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Apr 2011
ReviewCurrent concepts review: septic arthritis of the knee pathophysiology, diagnostics, and therapy.
Treatments for bacterial arthritis of the knee joint are arthroscopic irrigation and debridement with systemic antibiotic medication. This article summarizes the relevant data of pathophysiology, stage of infection, symptoms, and diagnostics as well as stage-dependent treatment of bacterial arthritis of the knee joint. The major treatment principles are joint decompression, elimination of the causative organisms by intensive irrigation of the joint with elimination of proteolytic and lysosomal enzymes. ⋯ The incidence of repeated arthroscopic joint irrigation depends on the initial stage of the infection and varies between 0 and 41% of the cases. For stage IV infections, the open revision is needed or in seldom cases of therapy failure under initial or repeated arthroscopic joint revision. The success rate of healing infections by arthroscopic irrigation was high with 90-100%.