Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Septic arthritis causing elbow pain and lameness in 21 dogs
By Mielke, Ben et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative orthopaedics and traumatology : V.C.O.T·2018·Department of Clinical Sciences and Services, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Spontaneous Septic Arthritis of Canine Elbows: Twenty-One Cases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of middle-aged large breed dogs with elbow pain were diagnosed with spontaneous septic arthritis, a serious infection in the elbow joint. Symptoms included sudden lameness and swelling in the elbow area. The dogs were treated with antibiotics, which initially improved their lameness scores, but many experienced ongoing issues, with some having recurrent infections. Unfortunately, two dogs did not survive due to severe systemic infection. It's important for pet owners to be aware that elbow infections can occur even without fever and may lead to long-term lameness.
People also search for: dog elbow pain treatment · septic arthritis in dogs · antibiotic treatment for dog elbow infection
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:  This study provides information on clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and associated risk factors of spontaneous septic elbow arthritis in the dog. METHODS: Medical records between March 2007 and June 2015 were searched for cases of spontaneous septic elbow arthritis with a diagnosis based on clinical signs, arthrocentesis, cytological and microbiological analysis of elbow joint synovial fluid, radiography and outcome following treatment. RESULTS: Twenty-one cases of septic arthritis were identified. Pre-existing osteoarthritis was present in 14/15 elbows for which diagnostic imaging was available. Although all cases had increased neutrophil count on synovial fluid cytology, culture was only positive in 12/21. Despite initial improvement in lameness scores (pre-treatment 9/10 [range: 1-10] versus post-treatment 3/10 [range: 1-5]), 11/12 had residual long-term lameness. Recurrence of infection was noted in 3/12 elbows for which long-term (>8 weeks) follow-up was available. There was an acute mortality rate of 2/21 associated with severe systemic sepsis. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Septic arthritis, even in the absence of pyrexia, should be considered as a major differential diagnosis in middle aged, large breed dogs, with pre-existing elbow arthritis, that suffer an acute onset lameness, with elbow joint effusion and discomfort. Antibiotic therapy alone was effective for treatment with high initial response rates. Chronic lameness post-treatment was common, and a high rate of recurrence was seen with 3/12 dogs suffering more than one episode.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30300912/