Child health · UKMLA & AKT
Septic arthritis
A free high-yield preview for the UKMLA Applied Knowledge Test. Below are the key points to recognise septic arthritis — the full SA Note notes add investigations, management, complications and 10 practice questions.
Key high-yield points
- Infection of the synovium and joint space - a true orthopaedic emergency in children
- Most common in children under 4 years; boys > girls
- Most commonly affected joint: knee (~50%), then hip, shoulder, ankle, wrist
- Most common organism: Staphylococcus aureus at any age
- Other organisms by context:
- Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A strep) - second most common in children
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae - sexually active teenagers; may be polyarticular
- Escherichia coli / Gram-negatives - neonates and immunocompromised
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