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The following is a summary of “Validation of septic arthritis diagnosis and disease characteristics in West Sweden,” published in the May 2025 issue of Infectious Diseases by Alexandersson et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to validate the septic arthritis diagnosis using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes against the Newman criteria and compare disease characteristics across subgroups.  

They identified 475 individuals with an ICD-10 code for septic arthritis at a university hospital (n = 265) and a county hospital (n = 167) in West Sweden between 2016 and 2019. Medical records were reviewed to assess adherence to the Newman criteria. Clinical data and culture results were compared between the 2 hospitals and across subgroups defined by the pathogenetic route of infection, including direct inoculation and haematogenous spread.  

The results showed that 91% of individuals met the Newman criteria, with 52% testing positive for synovial culture or polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 24% showing positive culture from blood or other sources, and 24% having radiological evidence or turbid synovial fluid. The majority of the population was male (62%), with a median age of 69 years, and the knee was the most affected joint (39%). Staphylococcus aureus was the dominant pathogen across all groups. Of the individuals, 80% had septic arthritis due to haematogenous spread, while 20% had direct inoculation. In the hematogenous spread group, individuals were older, had fewer males, and presented with higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels compared to the direct inoculation group.  

Investigators concluded that ICD-10 codes for septic arthritis in hospital care demonstrated a 91% positive predictive value against the Newman criteria, establishing their use as a dependable data source for subsequent epidemiological research. 

Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23744235.2025.2492606