J Korean Knee Soc.  1999 Jun;11(1):116-121.

Septic Arthritis of the Knee Following Arthroscopic Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

• Ahn JH
• Koo JS
• Kim YH

Abstract

PURPOSE: Septic arthritis of the knee is a relative rare complication of the arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, but inadequate treatment of this complication may lead to a devastating conse- quence of a chronic infection. Moreover, no guidelines have been proposed for the treatment of patients with knee infections after the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. To determine the optimal diagno- sis and treatment recommendation, we performed this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed retrospective study of the knee joint infections after the arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction between August 1993 and August 1998, Of the 420 patients who reviewed arthroscopic ACL reconstruction during this period from one surgeon, we experi- enced 4 cases(0.95%) of postoperative deep infections of the knee. RESULTS: All 4 patients were male, and the average age was 32 years(range from 19 to 43). Two patients had acute(< 2 weeks), two patients had subacute infections(2 weeks to 2 months). The acute cases had more severe symptoms, and positive cultures from knee joint aspirates. All patients underwent immediate open(1 case), or arthroscopic irrigation and debridement. One patient underwent repeat irriga- tion and debridement. The graft was removed from all patients in acute cases. CONCLUSION: The clinical symptoms, and the infected organism were more helpful than the peripheral blood counts in the diagnosis of a deep infection of the knee. Arthroscopic lavage, and debridement com- bined with intravenous antibiotics were effective treatment options. Clinical symptoms were more severe in acute cases, and early graft removal is an adequate method of surgical treatment.

MeSH Terms

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction*
Anterior Cruciate Ligament*
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Arthritis, Infectious*
Debridement
Diagnosis
Humans
Knee Joint
Knee*
Male
Retrospective Studies
Therapeutic Irrigation
Transplants
Anti-Bacterial Agents