Osteoarticular infections due to non-typhoidal Salmonella are rare, occurring with an incidence rate of 0.1-0.2%. An immunocompromised state and the existence of sickle cell anemia are known risk factors for development of septic arthritis due to Salmonella. In this report, we describe a patient with septic arthritis of the left knee caused by non-typhoidal Salmonella . An 82-year-old woman visited the emergency room presenting with left knee pain, fever and dyspnea. The patient had osteoarthritis and was treated with oral analgesics, but not with an intra-articular injection. Upon assessment of the patient's joint fluid and blood culture results, non-typhoidal Salmonella (Salmonella group D) was detected. Arthroscopy-guided irrigation and debridement, and administration of oral antibiotics (fluoroquinolone) over six weeks were required in order to achieve a full recovery from the infection.
Aged, 80 and over ; Analgesics ; Anemia, Sickle Cell ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Arthritis, Infectious ; Bacteremia ; Debridement ; Dyspnea ; Emergencies ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Incidence ; Injections, Intra-Articular ; Joints ; Knee ; Knee Joint ; Osteoarthritis ; Risk Factors ; Salmonella ; Salmonella Infections

Background: In bone sarcomas, chemotherapy has improved the prognosis with advances in diagnostic and surgical technologies, which has led to attempts to save limbs. As early detection and multidisciplinary treatment have improved the survival rate, curative surgery is considered for selected patients with metastatic bone carcinomas. Limb salvage procedures may vary in relation to the reconstruction method, which is accompanied by different complications. To overcome them, we devised a novel concept, insitu local tumor ablation and recycling machine based on radiofrequency (RF)-induced heating and intended experiments to demonstrate its feasibility. Methods: The fresh femurs of 6-month-old pigs were used after removing the epiphyses; the distal parts were placed in a heating chamber. Fiber-optic temperature sensors were inserted in the metaphysis, meta-diaphysis, and diaphysis. Temperatures were measured six times each during heating at 27.12 MHz at various powers. Additionally, the compressive and bending stiffnesses were measured six times each for the unprocessed, RF-treated, and pasteurized bones, and the results were compared. Results: Under 200 W power output, the temperatures at all measurement sites reached 70 °C or higher in 6 minutes, and the temperatures were maintained. The median compressive stiffness of RF-heated bones was 79.2% higher than that of pasteurized bones, but the difference was statistically insignificant. The median bending stiffness of RF-heated bones was approximately 66.3% of that of unprocessed bones, which was 20% higher than that of pasteurized bones. Conclusions The feasibility to rapidly attain and maintain temperatures for tumor ablation is shown, which favorably preserves bone stiffness through the in-situ local tumor ablation and recycling based on RF heating. The problem of nonuniform temperature distribution might be solved by an optimal design determined from simulation research and additional experiments.