Septic arthritis of the right ankle caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection in a rheumatoid arthritis patient treated with etanercept

Waguri-Nagaya, Yuko
Kobayashi, Masaaki
Goto, Hideyuki
Hisazaki, Shinji
Tsuchiya, Atsushi
Otsuka, Takanobu

Department of Musculoskeletal Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences,1 Kawasumi, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan

Correspondence to: Yuko Waguri-Nagaya, Department of Musculoskeletal Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences,1 Kawasumi, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan Tel. +81-52-853-8236; Fax +81-52-842-0266 e-mail: [email protected]

Received October 27, 2006

Accepted March 22, 2007

This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model)

Modern Rheumatology 17(4):p 338-340, August 01, 2007. | DOI: 10.3109/s10165-007-0581-z

We report on a 65-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis who developed septic arthritis of the right ankle and was treated with etanercept, low-dosage prednisolone, and salazosulfapyridine for 18 weeks. Staphylococcus aureus was cultured from ankle synovial fluid; hence, etanercept was stopped and cefazolin was administered. The patient responded well to arthroscopic synovectomy and irrigation of the ankle. Etanercept treatment should cease if it leads to septic arthritis and patients should be prescribed systemic antibiotics, with surgical debridement considered.