Polyarticular pseudosepsis in rheumatoid arthritis.

Three patients with longstanding seropositive rheumatoid arthritis had fever and marked synovial fluid leukocytosis in multiple joints. No infectious agents were found in synovial fluid or blood, and the patients recovered uneventfully without prolonged antibiotic therapy. Acute, severe exacerbations of synovitis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis may simulate a septic process and involve multiple joints.