It has been documented that rheumatoid arthritis in combination with medications used to prevent further damage in joint tissue, may compromise the immune system and the body’s inflammatory response. This can lead to an increased risk of infections, including septic arthritis. The woman in this case study was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 37, when severe changes had already started to show. Prednisolone, a corticosteroid, was prescribed 5 years later, even though it is normally given in early development of the disease due to its anti-inflammatory effects. However, Prednisolone also works as an immunosuppressant, and may cause osteoporosis and bone loss. With an already weakened immune system, and a permeable or lack of
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Without DMARDs, inflammation would destroy joint tissue to the point where it become misshapen and unusable. Furthermore, there are many possible side effects with the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, glucocorticoids, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) inhibitors can be an additional risk factor for the development of septic arthritis. Glucocorticoids can also lead to a rapid bone loss and osteoporosis, and may mask infection if used prior to the killing of bacteria. In this case, the patient had already started to show severe destructive changes and did not respond to the cocktail of drugs …show more content…
This is the most common cause of infectious (septic) arthritis, and studies have shown that as much as 80% of infected joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, are caused by Straphyloccocus aureus. S aureus, a gram positive coccus, is a bacteria that commonly lives on the skin or in the nose. While it causes no problems in healthy people, the risk of infection increase when immunosuppressive agents are used, which can cause acute bacterial arthritis. The most common source of infection is through the skin, which accounted for 76% of the cases where a source could be identified. Rheumatoid nodules or ulcerated calluses of the rheumatoid patient was the most common. Other common routes of spread include respiratory and urinary tract infection, local tissue infection, penetrating trauma, and
Without DMARDs, inflammation would destroy joint tissue to the point where it become misshapen and unusable. Furthermore, there are many possible side effects with the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, glucocorticoids, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) inhibitors can be an additional risk factor for the development of septic arthritis. Glucocorticoids can also lead to a rapid bone loss and osteoporosis, and may mask infection if used prior to the killing of bacteria. In this case, the patient had already started to show severe destructive changes and did not respond to the cocktail of drugs …show more content…
This is the most common cause of infectious (septic) arthritis, and studies have shown that as much as 80% of infected joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, are caused by Straphyloccocus aureus. S aureus, a gram positive coccus, is a bacteria that commonly lives on the skin or in the nose. While it causes no problems in healthy people, the risk of infection increase when immunosuppressive agents are used, which can cause acute bacterial arthritis. The most common source of infection is through the skin, which accounted for 76% of the cases where a source could be identified. Rheumatoid nodules or ulcerated calluses of the rheumatoid patient was the most common. Other common routes of spread include respiratory and urinary tract infection, local tissue infection, penetrating trauma, and