Septic arthritis is the purulent invasion of a joint by an infectious agent which produces arthritis.
The term "suppurative arthritis" is a near synonym for septic arthritis. ("Suppurative" refers to the production of pus, without necessarily implying sepsis.)
ICD-10 uses the term "pyogenic arthritis". Pyogenic also refers to the production of pus.
Reactive arthritis refers to arthritis caused by an immune consequence of an infection, but not dir...
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Septic arthritis is the purulent invasion of a joint by an infectious agent which produces arthritis.
The term "suppurative arthritis" is a near synonym for septic arthritis. ("Suppurative" refers to the production of pus, without necessarily implying sepsis.)
ICD-10 uses the term "pyogenic arthritis". Pyogenic also refers to the production of pus.
Reactive arthritis refers to arthritis caused by an immune consequence of an infection, but not directly attributable to the infection itself.
The usual etiology of septic arthritis is bacterial, but viral, mycobacterial, and fungal arthritis occur occasionally. A broader term is "infectious arthritis", which describes arthritis caused by any infectious organism. Viruses can cause arthritis, but it can be hard to determine if the arthritis is directly due to the virus or if the arthritis is reactive.
Septic/suppurative arthritis and "bacterial arthritis" are sometimes considered equivalent, but there are exceptions. For example, Borrelia...
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