Rheumatology international
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Early diagnosis of septic arthritis is very important. Few studies showed diagnostic accuracy of serum inflammatory markers in septic arthritis. The aim of our study was to compare the serum and synovial fluid markers [procalcitonin, serum IL-6, TNF-α, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, synovial fluid white blood cell counts and PMN percentage] in septic and inflammatory arthritis. ⋯ Serum IL-6 level does not differ among the two groups. In a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, synovial fluid WBC counts, PMN percentage, TNF-α, ESR, and serum PCT preformed best in distinguishing between septic and non-septic arthritis. Our study suggests that PCT can be used to diagnose the septic arthritis, but more studies warranted in order to determine the specificity and sensitivity of the test.