BACTERIAL ARTHRITIS OF THE SHOULDER JOINT MISDIAGNOSED AS ADHESIVE CAPSULITIS

An 83-year-old woman presented with right shoulder pain and limitation but no constitutional symptoms such as chills or fever. An adhesive c apsulitis was diagnosed by several doctors, but only after consultatio n with the rheumatologist was the correct underlying diagnosis of infe ctive arthritis made. As a result of the delay in antibiotic therapy, the patient lost cartilage in the glenohumeral joint and was left with restricted shoulder joint movements, although she recovered fully fro m the infection. A high index of suspicion is warranted in persistent monoarticular pain, with appropriate investigations, specifically eryt hrocyte sedimentation rate measurements and arthrocentesis, so as not to delay diagnosis and treatment.