Acute arthritis caused by Aeromonas hydrophola: clinical and therapeutic aspects

Two cases of Aeromonas hydrophila arthritis are reported and a third case present in the literature is reviewed. All three cases occurred in patients with myelogenous leukemia; the knee joint was involved in 2 patients and the metacarpal-phalangeal joint in the third. In the 2 patients presented here, synovial fluid antibiotic levels were measured and were adequate; but A hydrophila was repeatedly cultured from the knee joints, a fact suggesting that other factors, such as normal functioning leukocytes and specific opsonizing antibody against the organism, are also necessary to kill A hydrophila.