title: Septic arthritis of the sternoclavicular joint.
abstract: Septic arthritis is a medical emergency that requires immediate action to prevent significant morbidity and mortality. The sternoclavicular joint may have a more insidious onset than septic arthritis at other sites. A high index of suspicion and judicious use of laboratory and radiologic evaluation can help solidify this diagnosis. The sternoclavicular joint is likely to become infected in the immunocompromised patient or the patient who uses intravenous drugs, but sternoclavicular joint arthritis in the former is uncommon. This case series describes the course of 2 immunocompetent patients who were treated conservatively for septic arthritis of the sternoclavicular joint.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA. womackja@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Womack
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001170:Arthritis, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D013247:Sternoclavicular Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents