IMPORTANT: We currently have a number of bugs related to image cropping and are actively trying to resolve them. In the meantime, we have disabled cropping. Apologies for any inconvenience. Stay informed: radiopaedia.org/chat

Hip septic arthritis (pediatric)

Case contributed by Maulik S Patel
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Fever followed by the left hip pain, restricted movements. High total count and CRP. No trauma.

Patient Data

Age: 15 years
Gender: Male
ultrasound

There is moderate effusion with tiny echoes in the anterior synovial recess of the left hip joint. There is no synovial hypervascularity. No erosion of the underlying femur cortex is seen. There is no periarticular collection.

The Lt hip jt was opened...

Photo

The Lt hip jt was opened through the anterior approach.

The left hip joint cavity was filled with pus which was aspirated. There was no bone or cartilage erosion.

Case Discussion

An adolescent boy presented with fever followed by the left hip pain and restricted movements. The laboratory investigations favored infection. The radiograph of the hip joint was normal (not uploaded). The ultrasound shows hip effusion with the presence of echoes. Due to the presence of fever and high CRP, the hip joint was opened and revealed pus. Staphyloccous aureus was isolated in the pathology study.

Intraoperative photos courtesy: Operating surgeon Dr. Pinkesh V. Patel.

How to use cases

You can use Radiopaedia cases in a variety of ways to help you learn and teach.

Creating your own cases is easy.

Updating… Please wait.

 Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

 Thank you for updating your details.