Neonatal Septic Arthritis with Acyanotic CHD: A Case Study

Septic arthritis (SA) is the inflammation of the joints secondary to an infectious etiology, most commonly affecting the knee, hip, and shoulder. It is often an emergency condition and requires urgent intervention whether medical or surgical at the earliest. This case report highlights one such instance of timely intervention in a challenging scenario.

In this case report, we encountered a 29-day-old female neonate born at 38 weeks and 4 days to a primigravida mother with a birth weight of 2.8 kg who was diagnosed with the right knee joint SA with neonatal sepsis. The neonate was also found to be suffering with acyanotic congenital heart disease. Early arthrotomy with exploration of joint with antibiotic cover was the chosen line of treatment.

Arthrotomy is a very good and established method to deal with SA. Early intervention is advised in these cases to ensure proper recovery without any complications.