Treating joint inflammation in the elderly: an update.

The abrupt onset of monoarthritis in an older patient--especially knee, but also wrist, elbow, ankle, or shoulder--should alert the clinician to the possibility of pseudogout. Joint damage or synovitis may predispose aged patients to sepsis. Rheumatoid synovium, for example, has altered synovial resistance to bacterial seeding; thus, septic arthritis in rheumatoid patients may be polyarticular.