Clinical Outcomes and Global Health After Joint Debridement in Adult-Onset Septic Arthritis: A Prospective Observational Study

PurposeDespite several reports on risk factors for septic arthritis (SA) in adults, the outcomes on quality of life and joint function are sparsely reported. This study aimed to investigate the quality of life and joint function in adult patients treated for SA.MethodsThis prospective observational study enrolled clinically diagnosed adult SA patients and estimated Euroqol 5-dimension 5 levels (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire, Euroqol Visual Analog Scale (EQ-VAS) and a validated tool for joint function at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after debridement.ResultsTwenty seven patients (20 males/7 females) with 21 knees, four shoulders, and two elbows were evaluated. The mean age of the cases was 51(± 13.00) years. Three cases sustained mortality. EQ-5D-5L (P < 0.01) and EQ-VAS (P < 0.01) scores improved significantly between all time frames. Mean Knee society (P < 0.01), Shoulder QuickDASH, and Mayo elbow scores improved at all time frames. There was no difference in primary outcomes between early (< 14 days) and late (14 days or more) presentation. There was no difference in primary outcome measures between confirmed and suspected SA. Fifteen patients could ambulate without support, while 6 needed some support for walking at 1 year.ConclusionImproved outcomes can be expected in quality of life and joint function in adults'' septic arthritis at the end of 1 year after surgical treatment; however, the effects of delay in presentation need to be investigated further. Isolation of the microorganism from an infected joint has no bearing on the outcome measures.