title: Antibiotic treatment insufficient for established septic arthritis. Staphylococcus aureus experiments in rabbits.
abstract: We treated septic arthritis of the knee in 38 rabbits with cloxacillin i.m. once and twice daily combined with probenecid for 7 or 21 days, respectively, or with only cloxacillin i.m. thrice daily for 7 days. The animals were killed weekly in groups up to 5 weeks after inoculation. Aspirated cultures obtained after 4 days of treatment were always negative. Histologic specimens revealed progressive joint destruction, but at a slower rate after frequent treatment independent of the period. We concluded that antibiotic therapy alone could not prevent destruction of articular cartilage once bacterial arthritis was established.
authors.affiliation: University of Copenhagen, Department of Orthopedics, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Riegels-Nielsen
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Frimodt-Møller
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sørensen
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Jensen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001170:Arthritis, Infectious / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D003023:Cloxacillin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D011339:Probenecid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011817:Rabbits; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D003023:Cloxacillin; D011339:Probenecid