Septic arthritis and arthropathy of the rotator cuff: remember this association

To describe occurrences of septic glenohumeral arthritis among patients with arthropathy of the rotator cuff, and to highlight the importance of correct diagnosis and surgical procedures.

Eight surgical drains were installed in seven patients with glenohumeral pyoarthritis. All the patients presented arthropathy of the rotator cuff (four males and three females). Six patients presented pyoarthritis in the dominant shoulder. The age range was from 53 to 93 years (mean: 74 years). The mean duration of the symptoms before the surgical lavage was six weeks. Six patients underwent treatment consisting of a combination of arthroscopic irrigation and debridement, and one patient was treated by means of open arthrotomy. All the patients received systemic antibiotic therapy in accordance with their bacterial sensitivity.

All seven patients achieved satisfactory results, taking into consideration especially the improvement of pain and the patients' satisfaction. The functional assessment was performed using the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) scale. Only one patient needed to go through another arthroscopic procedure. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from four cultures and Escherichia coli from one culture. There were two situations in which the patients used empirical antibiotic therapy and the cultures showed negative results. Among the associated procedures, tenotomy of the biceps was performed in four cases, resection of the lateral third of the clavicle due to osteomyelitis in one case and arthrotomy of the knee in one case.

Surgical treatment was effective in the cases of arthritis associated with arthropathy of the rotator cuff. In patients with arthropathy of the rotator cuff and subclinically altered laboratory signs, the possibility of pyoarthritis should always be suspected.