Rheumatology Medical News

Become a Member Today!
Register

Most Viewed Abstracts

1. Report Shows Shift in Starting Salaries for Physicians

2. Rapid correction of low vitamin D status in nursing home residents

3. 2008 Exclusive Survey—Earnings: Good news for primary care income

4. Medicare pay-for-reporting effort draws fire from frustrated doctors

5. Allopurinol-induced recurrent dress syndrome: Pathophysiology and treatment

Your Article Summary

See Latest Articles

(Click the title below to leave the MDLinx Network and go to the Journal's Website)

Procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, and complement-3a assays in synovial fluid for diagnosing septic arthritis: Preliminary results
Joint, Bone, Spine, 02/11/08

Streit G et al. - In synovial fluid samples, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels seem better than procalcitonin levels for assisting in the diagnosis of septic arthritis.

Methods

The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of measuring procalcitonin, the C3a complement fraction, and CRP in synovial fluid for diagnosing septic arthritis
Synovial fluid samples (n=38; from 30 pts) obtained by aspiration of the knee were studied retrospectively
Procalcitonin was assayed using a chemiluminescent assay and C3a and CRP using nephelometry. Cytology was performed as well

Results

The age and sex distribution showed no differences across the three groups of pts
Procalcitonin, C3a, and CRP were detected in all three groups
Procalcitonin and CRP levels were low, close to the detection threshold, in the patients with OA
The procalcitonin level was higher in the group with septic arthritis than in the group with osteoarthritis
Procalcitonin levels were also higher in the septic arthritis group compared to the RA group
CRP levels differed across the three groups
C3a levels, in contrast, were not different across the three groups

<< Previous
Risk factors in familial osteoarthritis: the GARP sibling study

Next >>
Higher therapeutic plasma oxypurinol concentrations might be...