[Plant prickle arthritis in children. Apropos of 6 personal cases]

Six children with arthritis after penetration of a vegetable prickle into the joint are reported. The affected joints were the knee (5 fold) and the elbow (1 fold). The prickles were of palm-tree (2 cases), sloe-tree (2 cases) or unknown (2 cases) origin. The culture of the synovial fluid was negative and the diagnosis was based on microscopic examination of the centrifugated fluid. Four patients needed synovectomy.