Septic arthritis in hemodialyzed patients.

Six episodes of septic arthritis involving 5 patients and eleven joints were documented in the last 7 years in a population receiving 450 patient-years of dialysis treatment. The same micro-organisms were often cultured simultaneously from the joint, blood and/or arteriovenous fistula, suggesting hematogenous spread. A tendency toward multiarticular involvement was also observed. Early diagnosis is mandatory to avoid severe joint damage. Since such patients have other potential causes of arthritis and periarticular pain not due to infection, it is important to culture the joint fluid promptly whenever the possibility of infection exists.