BACKGROUND Septic arthritis of the elbow joint is a rare condition. Limited data is available on infections of the elbow joint following trauma or prior surgery on this joint. The aim of this study was to describe the etiology, comorbidities, bacterial spectrum and therapy of secondary purulent elbow infections. METHODS Patients treated in our hospital were selected through retrospective chart review between 2006 and 2015. We included all patients with an empyema of the elbow after a trauma or surgical intervention on this joint. 30 patients between 26 and 82 years (mean: 52.47) were included. RESULTS Seven patients (23.3%) were female, 23 (76.7%) male. 22 patients (73.3%) had a history of trauma, eight (26.7%) had prior elective surgeries on their elbow. Between one and 25 surgeries (mean: 5.77) were necessary for treatment. In nine patients, debridement and synovectomy were sufficient, eight patients (26.7%) received resection of the elbow joint. One patient was treated with a chronic fistula. In 18 patients (60%), cultures of aspiration/intraoperative swabs were positive for Staphylococcus aureus, four of these were methicillin-resistant. Four patients (13.3%) had positive cultures for Staphylococcus epidermidis, in five patients (16.7%) no bacteria could be cultured. CONCLUSIONS Secondary infections of the elbow joint are a rare disease with potentially severe courses, requiring aggressive surgical treatment and possibly severely impacting elbow function. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common bacteria in secondary infections and should be addressed by empiric antibiotic treatment when no suspicion for other participating organisms is present.

中文翻译：

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肘关节继发性化脓性感染：一项回顾性单中心研究。

背景技术肘关节的化脓性关节炎是一种罕见的疾病。关于创伤或该关节先前的手术后肘关节感染的可用数据有限。这项研究的目的是描述继发性化脓性肘部感染的病因，合并症，细菌谱和治疗方法。方法回顾性分析2006年至2015年间在我们医院接受治疗的患者。我们纳入了所有因关节受到外伤或手术干预后出现肘部积脓的患者。纳入了30例年龄在26至82岁之间的患者（平均52.47岁）。结果7例患者（23.3％）为女性，23例患者（76.7％）为男性。22例（73.3％）有外伤史，八例（26.7％）曾接受过肘部择期手术。需要进行一到25例手术（平均：5.77）。在九名患者中 清创术和滑膜切除术就足​​够了，八例（26.7％）接受了肘关节切除术。一名患者接受了慢性瘘管治疗。在18例患者（60％）中，抽吸/术中拭子培养物对金黄色葡萄球菌呈阳性，其中四个对甲氧西林耐药。四名患者（13.3％）的表皮葡萄球菌培养阳性，五名患者（16.7％）的细菌无法培养。结论肘关节继发感染是一种罕见的疾病，病程可能很严重，需要积极的外科治疗并可能严重影响肘关节功能。金黄色葡萄球菌是继发感染中最常见的细菌，如果没有怀疑其他参与生物，应通过经验性抗生素治疗来解决。