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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus induced reactive arthritis treated with systemic corticosteroid

Thorsten M Leucker1, Shivani V Reddy, Bryan K Moffett

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA. tmleuc01@exchange.louisville.edu

The American Journal of the Medical Sciences
|March 16, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Reactive arthritis, a triad of joint, urinary, and eye inflammation, can follow infections. This case highlights methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as a rare trigger for reactive arthritis.

Area of Science:

  • Rheumatology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Reactive arthritis classically presents with arthritis, urethritis, and conjunctivitis within six weeks of infection, typically gastrointestinal or genitourinary.
  • Staphylococcus aureus is an uncommon pathogen associated with reactive arthritis, though it can cause septicemia and, rarely, septic arthritis.

Observation:

  • A human leukocyte antigen B27-positive patient presented with symptoms following recurrent bacterial prostatitis.
  • The prostatitis was caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Findings:

  • The patient developed reactive arthritis, a sterile joint inflammation, subsequent to the MRSA prostatitis.
  • This case underscores the importance of considering reactive arthritis in patients with preceding or ongoing Staphylococcus aureus infections.

Implications:

  • This case expands the known spectrum of infectious triggers for reactive arthritis.
  • Clinicians should consider reactive arthritis in the differential diagnosis of joint effusions and arthropathy in patients with S. aureus infections, including MRSA.

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