Sandbox:iqra

Septic arthritis resident survival guide:

Complete diagnostic approach:

Common Presentation Symptoms in newborns or infants: Cries when infected joint is moved (e.g. diaper change causes crying if hip joint is infected) Fever Inability to move the limb with the infected joint (pseudoparalysis) Irritability Symptoms in children and adults: Inability to move the limb with the infected joint (pseudoparalysis) Intense joint pain Joint swelling Joint redness Low fever The tenosynovitis is characterized by pain, swelling, and erythema around the tendon Less common Presentation Chills
Focused History Onset, duration and progression of symptoms History of weight changes (gain or loss) Anorexia Arthritis, arthralgias, or muscle pain Morning stiffness Skin rashes and their association to flare ups, especially after exposure to sunlight Medications and their association to flare ups Infections especially mononucleosis Sores in the mouth, nose, or other mucous membranes Symptoms of other organ failure Renal failure: Recent peripheral edema and weight gain Cardiac involvement: Tachycardia, dyspnea, chest pains History of having a pet Hair loss Job history Co-morbid conditions include: Other rheumatologic and autoimmune diseases Hypertension Diabetes, immunodeficiency Seizures, or other nervous system symptoms Family history of rheumatologic diseases
Physical Examination Appearance of the Patient Patient appears well in the earlier stages of the disease Patient appears ill in the late stages of the disease due to multi-organ involvement Vital Signs Fever higher than 38 after the exclusion of infection Tachycardia/bradycardia depends on the accompanying complication Tachypnea/bradypnea depends on the accompanying complication Skin Cyanosis Secondary to respiratory complications Jaundice Secondary to hepatitis Pallor Secondary to anemia Generalised erythema Bruises Secondary to thrombocytopenia Urticaria Bullous lesions Sclerodactyly Skin ulceration Malar rash: the classic lupus ‘butterfly’ rash Erythematous, elevated lesion, pruritic or painful, in a malar distribution, commonly precipitated by exposure to sunlight Annular or psoriasiform skin lesions Small, erythematous, slightly scaly papules that evolve into either a psoriasiform (papulosquamous) or annular form and tend to involve shoulders, forearms, neck, and upper torso Scarring chronic alopecia Mostly present on face, neck, and scalp Telangiectasias Dyspigmentation (hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation) of skin in scar places Follicular plugging Discrete, erythematous, slightly infiltrated plaques covered by a well-formed adherent scale that extends into dilated hair follicles Nodules Can be firm (Lupus profundus) and painful Photodistributed lesions with chronic pink indurated plaques or broad lesions that are slow to heal (more seen in lupus tumidus) Thin hair that easily fractures (lupus hair) Irregularly shaped raised white plaques, areas of erythema, silvery white scarred lesions, and ulcers with surrounding erythema on the soft or hard palate or buccal mucosa Periungual erythema Dilated tortuous loops of capillaries and a prominent subcapillary venous plexus along Involves the base of the nail and edges of the upper eyelid For more pictures of the rash presentation in lupus, click here. HEENT Ophthalmology Nystagmus Visual retinal changes from systemic lupus erythematosus cytoid bodies, retinal haemorrhages, serous exudate or haemorrhage in the choroid, optic neuritis (not due to hypertension, drugs or infection) Cataract Optic nerve atrophy Icteric sclera Cotton wool spots in the retina in ophthalmoscopic exam Nasal ulcers Mostly painless Mostly in lower nasal septum and bilateral and parallel Nasal perforation secondary to vasculitis may happen rarely Oral ulcers Mostly painless White plaques with areas of erythema, or punched-out erosions or ulcers with surrounding erythema on the soft or hard palate or buccal mucosa Neck Jugular venous distension Secondary to hypertension and cardiac complications Lymphadenopathy Lymph nodes are soft, non-tender, discrete Usually detected in the cervical, axillary, and inguinal Lungs Fine and coarse crackles upon auscultation of the lung May be due to pneumonitis In case of pleural effusion: Asymmetric tactile fremitus Asymmetric chest expansion Heart Chest tenderness or discomfort upon palpation May be due to costochondritis Diastolic murmur, or systolic murmur >3/6 due to valvular disease Loud second heart sound (due to pulmonary hypertension) Loud S1-S2 due to cardiomegaly Decrease heart sounds if associated with pericardial effusion Abdomen Abdominal distention Ascites Due to nephrotic syndrome Abdominal pain Due to mesentric vasculitis Hepatomegaly Splenomegaly Costo-vertebral angle tenderness Extremities Clubbing Cyanosis Muscle atrophy or weakness Livedo reticularis Reddish-cyanotic, reticular pattern on the skin of the arms, legs, and torso, particularly with cold exposure Arthritis Symmetrical Polyarticular Mostly involve knees, carpal joints, and joints of the fingers, especially the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint Decrease range of motion in affected joints Joints erythema Due to synovitis Joint effusion Muscle atrophy Fasciculations in the upper/lower extremity Claudication Loss of digit or limb Neuromuscular Patient is usually oriented to persons, place, and time based on the disease course Cognitive impairment Hallucinations Visual Auditory Memory deficit Loose associations Impoverished thought content Illogical thinking Bizarre disorganised or catatonic behaviour
Laboratory Workup CBC with DC SMA-7 Creatine kinase Urinalysis with microscopic examination Erythrocyte sedimentation rate C-reactive protein Coombs test Antinuclear antibodies Rheumatoid factor Cryoglobulins Antiphospholipid antibodies Complement levels Urine protein-to-creatinine ratio Anti-dsDNA antibody Anti-SM antibodies Anti-Ro/SSA antibodies Anti-La/SSB antibodies Anti-U1 RNP antibodies Antiribosomal P protein antibodies
Imaging Study Plain radiographs of swollen joints Erosions Ultrasonography of painful joints Detect synovitis and tenosynovitis in the hands and wrists in patients with SLE Renal ultrasonography To assess kidney size To rule out urinary tract obstruction Chest radiography For suspected pleural effusion, interstitial lung disease, cardiomegaly Echocardiography For suspected pericardial involvement, to assess for a source of emboli, or noninvasive estimation of pulmonary artery pressure; and for evaluation of suspected valvular lesions, such as verrucae Computed tomography (CT) For abdominal pain, suspected pancreatitis, interstitial lung disease Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) For focal neurologic deficits or cognitive dysfunction
Other Investigation Bronchoscopy Fiberoptic bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and transbronchial lung biopsies: To substantiate the diagnosis of alveolar hemorrhage Barium swallow or esophagography Esophageal stricture Peptic strictures that appear as smooth, tapered narrowing in the distal esophagus Esophageal dilatation Biopsy Renal biopsies: Determining the degree of renal involvement Delineating treatment decisions and prognosis in certain clinical scenarios Assess activity and damage (i.e., chronicity) Helping with classification Endomyocardial biopsy: May be helpful in guiding treatment towards the use of corticosteroids Paracentesis Paracentesis in the presence of the following conditions either for symptomatic relief (therapeutic) or fluid evaluation (diagnostic): Ascites Massive pleural effusion Massive pericardial effusion and tamponade Arthrocentesis In the presence of joint effusion to differentiate between different causes of arthritis