Title: Adult Septic arthritis<br/>Author: Brian Corwell<br/><a href='http://umem.org/profiles/faculty/294/'>[Click to email author]</a><hr/><p>
The clinical examination is often unreliable in ruling out septic arthritis in the ED.</p>
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Diagnostic arthrocentesis is often performed.</p>
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Traditional teaching involved very high WBC count thresholds as part of diagnosis.</p>
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In one 2009 study, synovial leukocyte counts in cases of MRSA were often less than 25,000 cells/uL</p>
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Have a low threshold for empiric antibioitics even in the face of low WBC counts (and incredulous consultants)</p>
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<font color="#231f20" face="AGaramond-Regular" size="6"><font color="#231f20" face="AGaramond-Regular" size="6"><font color="#231f20" face="AGaramond-Regular" size="6"><span style="font-size: 12px"> </span></font></font></font></p>
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<font color="#231f20" face="AGaramond-Regular" size="6"><font color="#231f20" face="AGaramond-Regular" size="6"><font color="#231f20" face="AGaramond-Regular" size="6"><span style="font-size: 12px"><font color="#231f20" face="AGaramond-Regular"><font color="#231f20" face="AGaramond-Regular"><font color="#231f20" face="AGaramond-Regular">How Common is MRSA in Adult Septic Arthritis? Frazee et al., 2009</font></font></font></span></font></font></font></p>
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