PERSISTENCE OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS AS DETECTED BY POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION IN THE SYNOVIAL-FLUID OF A PATIENT WITH SEPTIC ARTHRITIS

Septic arthritis commonly occurs in the rheumatoid arthritis populatio n. The diagnosis is frequently delayed and the associated mortality is high. In this brief report, we present a patient with rheumatoid arth ritis and prosthetic knee joints who developed septic arthritis and ha d persisting evidence of Staphylococcus aureus DNA in synovial fluid, from his knees, which was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a gene probe. This was detected until 10 weeks of therapy despite adequate antibiotic treatment and a sterile synovial fluid. In the fut ure, it may be found that PCR of the synovial fluid will be a valuable investigation for the diagnosis and management of septic arthritis.