Septic arthritis of the knee and necrotizing fasciitis in a young immunocompetent adult: a case report / Hayatul Najaa Miptah … [et al.]

Septic arthritis is uncommon in immunocompetent young adults. It typically presents in individuals with underlying risk factors. Isolation of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) as the causative agent of septic arthritis is usually associated with autoimmune diseases, chronic skin infections or trauma. Here...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Miptah, Hayatul Najaa, Badlishah-Sham, Siti Fatimah, Lloyd, Selvyn, Ramli, Anis Safura
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Selangor 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/30063/
_version_ 1848807402101538816
author Miptah, Hayatul Najaa
Badlishah-Sham, Siti Fatimah
Lloyd, Selvyn
Ramli, Anis Safura
author_facet Miptah, Hayatul Najaa
Badlishah-Sham, Siti Fatimah
Lloyd, Selvyn
Ramli, Anis Safura
author_sort Miptah, Hayatul Najaa
building UiTM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Septic arthritis is uncommon in immunocompetent young adults. It typically presents in individuals with underlying risk factors. Isolation of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) as the causative agent of septic arthritis is usually associated with autoimmune diseases, chronic skin infections or trauma. Here we report a case of a young lady who is immunocompetent without any prior history of trauma, who presented with an abrupt onset of left knee pain and swelling to the emergency department. An initial diagnosis of acute gout was made and she was treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). She presented again two days later to a primary care clinic with worsening knee pain and severe left calf pain. A clinical diagnosis of septic arthritis was suspected and the patient was urgently referred to the Orthopaedic team. Synovial fluid from the knee joint aspiration showed growth of GAS. A diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis was also made as the culture taken from the left calf during incision and drainage (I&D) procedure showed a mixed growth. She eventually underwent surgical debridement twice, together with the administration of several courses of intravenous antibiotics leading to her full recovery after 45 days. This case demonstrates the challenge in making a prompt diagnosis of septic arthritis and probable Type II necrotizing fasciitis in an immunocompetent adult without underlying risk factors. Any delay in diagnosis and treatment would have increased the risk of damage to her knee joint and this may be fatal even in a previously healthy young adult.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T22:42:15Z
format Article
id uitm-30063
institution Universiti Teknologi MARA
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T22:42:15Z
publishDate 2018
publisher Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Selangor
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling uitm-300632020-04-21T13:22:57Z https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/30063/ Septic arthritis of the knee and necrotizing fasciitis in a young immunocompetent adult: a case report / Hayatul Najaa Miptah … [et al.] jchs Miptah, Hayatul Najaa Badlishah-Sham, Siti Fatimah Lloyd, Selvyn Ramli, Anis Safura Specialties of internal medicine Diseases of the musculoskeletal system Septic arthritis is uncommon in immunocompetent young adults. It typically presents in individuals with underlying risk factors. Isolation of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) as the causative agent of septic arthritis is usually associated with autoimmune diseases, chronic skin infections or trauma. Here we report a case of a young lady who is immunocompetent without any prior history of trauma, who presented with an abrupt onset of left knee pain and swelling to the emergency department. An initial diagnosis of acute gout was made and she was treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). She presented again two days later to a primary care clinic with worsening knee pain and severe left calf pain. A clinical diagnosis of septic arthritis was suspected and the patient was urgently referred to the Orthopaedic team. Synovial fluid from the knee joint aspiration showed growth of GAS. A diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis was also made as the culture taken from the left calf during incision and drainage (I&D) procedure showed a mixed growth. She eventually underwent surgical debridement twice, together with the administration of several courses of intravenous antibiotics leading to her full recovery after 45 days. This case demonstrates the challenge in making a prompt diagnosis of septic arthritis and probable Type II necrotizing fasciitis in an immunocompetent adult without underlying risk factors. Any delay in diagnosis and treatment would have increased the risk of damage to her knee joint and this may be fatal even in a previously healthy young adult. Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Selangor 2018-12 Article PeerReviewed text en https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/30063/1/AJ_HAYATUL%20NAJAA%20MIPTAH%20JCHS%20B%2018.pdf Miptah, Hayatul Najaa and Badlishah-Sham, Siti Fatimah and Lloyd, Selvyn and Ramli, Anis Safura (2018) Septic arthritis of the knee and necrotizing fasciitis in a young immunocompetent adult: a case report / Hayatul Najaa Miptah … [et al.]. (2018) Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences <https://ir.uitm.edu.my/view/publication/Journal_of_Clinical_and_Health_Sciences.html>, 3 (2). pp. 1-6. ISSN 0127-984X https://jchs-medicine.uitm.edu.my/index.php
spellingShingle Specialties of internal medicine
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system
Miptah, Hayatul Najaa
Badlishah-Sham, Siti Fatimah
Lloyd, Selvyn
Ramli, Anis Safura
Septic arthritis of the knee and necrotizing fasciitis in a young immunocompetent adult: a case report / Hayatul Najaa Miptah … [et al.]
title Septic arthritis of the knee and necrotizing fasciitis in a young immunocompetent adult: a case report / Hayatul Najaa Miptah … [et al.]
title_full Septic arthritis of the knee and necrotizing fasciitis in a young immunocompetent adult: a case report / Hayatul Najaa Miptah … [et al.]
title_fullStr Septic arthritis of the knee and necrotizing fasciitis in a young immunocompetent adult: a case report / Hayatul Najaa Miptah … [et al.]
title_full_unstemmed Septic arthritis of the knee and necrotizing fasciitis in a young immunocompetent adult: a case report / Hayatul Najaa Miptah … [et al.]
title_short Septic arthritis of the knee and necrotizing fasciitis in a young immunocompetent adult: a case report / Hayatul Najaa Miptah … [et al.]
title_sort septic arthritis of the knee and necrotizing fasciitis in a young immunocompetent adult: a case report / hayatul najaa miptah … [et al.]
topic Specialties of internal medicine
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system
url https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/30063/
https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/30063/