Pyarthrosis of the knee. Treatment considerations.

Patients with pyarthrosis of the knee can be effectively managed by several different methods. A retrospective review of patients with the diagnosis of septic arthritis of the knee was undertaken to determine the efficacy of two different treatment programs. Multiple-needle arthrocentesis was contrasted with formal arthrotomy drainage. In this series, patients with a longer than three-day history of a knee pyarthrosis and those with Staphylococcus aureus or enteric gram-negative organisms on culture benefited from open drainage procedures in lieu of repeated aspiration techniques.