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. 1998 Nov;57(11):687–690. doi: 10.1136/ard.57.11.687

Treatment of staphylococcal septic arthritis in rabbits by systemic antibiotics and intra-articular corticosteroids

A Wysenbeek 1, J Volchek 1, M Amit 1, D Robinson 1, I Boldur 1, Z Nevo 1
PMCID: PMC1752499  PMID: 9924212

Abstract

OBJECTIVE—To assess the effect of intra-articular corticosteroids added to systemic antibiotics in experimental septic arthritis.
METHODS—Rabbits were injected intra-articularely by Staphylococcus epidermidis. Rabbits received no additional treatment and served as control (group 1), were treated with systemic antibiotics (group 2), or treated with systemic antibiotics and intra-articular corticosteroids (group 3). After 15 days animals were killed and joint histopathological-histochemical parameters were assessed.
RESULTS—All rabbits survived the experiment. The treated groups (2-3) had lower histological-histochemical scores in comparison with the untreated group (1). Group 3 had significantly lower scores in joint sections in comparison with group 2: (mean (SD) 6.5 (1.4) v 4.0 (1.0), p=0.001 and 7.4 (2.6) v 4.2 (2.2), p= 0.01), because of lower damage expressed in clustering of chondrocytes, pannus formation, proteoglycan depletion, and synovitis.
CONCLUSION—Addition of local corticosteroids to systemic antibiotics in septic arthritis seems to be harmless, and improves joint histological-histochemical parameters in this experimental setting.

 Keywords: infectious arthritis; corticosteroids; rabbits

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Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

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Normal proteoglycans from a control knee (A), and severe proteoglycan depletion, septic knee, group 1 (B). Stained with Alcian blue × 100. 

Figure 2  .

Figure 2  

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Pannus covering cartilage and erosion, group 2. Stained with Masson's trichrom × 100. 

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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