Septic knee joint

Legs | Orthopaedics | Septic knee joint (Disease)


Description

The knee joint is the area located at the junction with leg thigh. Connects the femur to the tibia knee and patella. Very strong ligaments guarantee perfect stability of the joints.

Causes and Risk factors

Some knee problems develop due to wear occurring in the joint, such as in osteoarthritis. Other problems result from injury, such as a blow to the knee or sudden movements that strain the knee beyond its normal range of motion at this level.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Doctors use several methods to diagnose diseases of the knee: history - detailed patient reports symptoms and possible injury, concomitant diseases that might explain pain; physical examination - the doctor makes flexion, extension, rotation and pressure on the knee pain to locate and determine the degree of limitation of movement; diagnostic tests - to perform one or more tests to determine the nature of disease; radiography - an X-ray beam is passed through the knee, forming a two-dimensional picture of the bone; an MRI - energy coming from a powerful magnet stimulates knee tissue to produce signals that are detected by a scanner and analyzed by computer, it forms a series of sections through a certain part of the knee, an MRI is sensitive in detecting abnormalities of soft tissues such as muscles or ligaments.

Treatment for septic arthritis may include: intravenous fluids, antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications for pain, narcotic medications, surgery for septic arthritis (to remove infected tissue from the joint, may be performed through an arthroscope, eliminating the need for a conventional incision).

...