Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22527333›Full record

ArticleInternational orthopaedics2012

The fate of acutely inflamed joints with a negative synovial fluid culture.

Ihab Hujazi, David Oni, Arvind Arora, Garciela Muniz, Vikas Khanduja

Open access · bronzeAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in International orthopaedics, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 85% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Septic Arthritis Risk Calculator: External Validation of a Prediction Model for Native Adult Knees Among Veterans.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2026
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  3. Endogenous endophthalmitis caused by Staphylococcus capitis.American journal of ophthalmology case reports · 2022
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  4. First report ofThe Pan African medical journal · 2022
    Article
  5. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ihab HujaziDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Addenbrooke's-Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Box 37, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.
David Oni
Arvind Arora
Garciela Muniz
Vikas Khanduja
University of Cambridge · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the management and fate of acutely inflamed joints with a negative synovial fluid culture.

methodsBetween January and December 2009, all the patients who presented to our institution with an acutely inflamed joint and were subjected to microbiological assessment of their synovial fluid, were included in the study. Patients with a positive synovial fluid culture, a prosthetic joint replacement in situ and where an aspirate was obtained for a rheumatological diagnosis were excluded. This cohort was then divided into two groups depending on whether a diagnosis could be established through the course of their treatment. Group I included patients in whom a diagnosis could be established and group II included patients in whom a diagnosis could not be established. A thorough review of the patients' medical records and the hospital database was performed. Following this, a database consisting of the patient demographics, clinical features, investigations, treatment and outcome was created.

resultsA total of 144 patients met the inclusion criteria (group I: 95, group II: 49). The most commonly affected joint in both the groups was the knee. The average time to presentation was shorter in group II. Clinical findings at presentation were comparable in both groups. However, inflammatory markers were more likely to be raised in group II in comparison with group I. Eighty-two percent of group II required antibiotic treatment compared with 15% of group I. The mean duration of antibiotic treatment in group I was ten days and in group II was 26 days. Mean hospital stay differed significantly between the two groups, with group II being more than twice as long as compared with group I (p=0.001). The rate of mortality was also higher in group II (8.2%, p=0.03).

conclusionOur study shows that patients presenting with an acutely inflamed joint and a negative synovial fluid culture in whom a diagnosis cannot be established during their hospital stay have a longer hospital stay and an increased rate of mortality as compared with patients in whom a diagnosis can be established.

Indexed as

Acute DiseaseAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAnti-Bacterial AgentsArthritisBlood Cell CountChildChild, PreschoolCohort StudiesFemaleHumansInfantJointsLength of StayAnti-Bacterial Agents

Identifiers

PMID22527333
PMCPMC3385899
OpenAlexW2090986545

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.