Predicting adjacent infections in pediatric septic arthritis: Do predictive criteria extrapolate across geographic regions?: Predicting Periarticular Infection in the Southeast

Purpose: This study aims to assess previously determined predictive criteria for presence of adjacent infection in septic arthritis within a Southeastern United States (US) pediatric population.

Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the Rosenfeld criteria were: 91.7%, 22.7%, 39.3%, and 83.3%, respectively. The patients with periarticular infection were more likely to have positive blood cultures than those with isolated septic arthritis. There was no difference in likelihood of secondary surgical intervention.

Conclusions: Previously defined criteria to predict adjacent infection in pediatric septic arthritis did not demonstrate external validity in a Southeastern US pediatric population.