European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Introduction: Inflammation of joints caused by pyogenic bacteria causes septic arthritis. This is an emergency that requires immediate diagnosis and treatment. Delay causes cartilage and joint destruction, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of patients with septic arthritis who present to the emergency department varies widely between studies. Immunocompromised patients and those with artificial joints have a higher incidence of septic arthritis. Because x-rays are widely available, they are commonly used for imaging joints. MRI provides more accurate information about joint and adjacent soft tissue involvement.

Introduction: Osteomyelitis is pathologically defined as inflammation of bone and bone marrow due to infection with a microbial pathogen. Septic arthritis is pyogenic infection of the joint either due to direct extension from local tissue infection or more commonly as a result of bacteremia. Microbiological diagnosis in these cases can be made by culture on enriched media and PCR. As PCR detects bacterial DNA, it does not rely on the presence of viable bacteria in the sample for identification. The rapidity of PCR along with its higher sensitivity and specificity enables faster and more accurate diagnosis and treatment