Reviewed By:
Kent C Doan, MD (Orthopedics)
Dr Doan Graduated from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine and completed residency training in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Colorado. He completed additional fellowship training in Orthopedic Sports Medicine at the prestigious Steadman Clinic and Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Vail, Colorado. He is a practicing Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in complex and revision knee and shoulder surgery at the Kansas City Orthopedic Institute. He also holds an assistant professorship at the University of Kansas City.
Tomohiro Hamahata, MD (Orthopedics)
Dr. Hamahata graduated from the Jikei University of Medical Science. After working at Asanokawa General Hospital and Kosei Chuo Hospital, he joined the Department of Orthopedics at Asakusa Hospital in April 2021, specializing in general orthopedics and joint replacement surgery.
Content updated on Jan 19, 2024
Following the Medical Content Editorial Policy
Worried about your symptoms?
Start the Septic Arthritis test with our free AI Symptom Checker.
This will help us personalize your assessment.
By starting the symptom checker, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Have joint pain
Have a fever
Knee does not move
Hands and feet feel hot
Pain and swelling in the ankle
Swelling of the affected area
Joint pain that is always there
Not seeing your symptoms? No worries!
With a free 3-min Septic Arthritis quiz, powered by Ubie's AI and doctors, find possible causes of your symptoms.
This questionnaire is customized to your situation and symptoms, including the following personal information:
Biological Sex - helps us provide relevant suggestions for male vs. female conditions.
Age - adjusts our guidance based on any age-related health factors.
History - considers past illnesses, surgeries, family history, and lifestyle choices.
Your symptoms
Our AI
Your report
Your personal report will tell you
✔ When to see a doctor
✔︎ What causes your symptoms
✔︎ Treatment information etc.
See full list
Septic arthritis is an infection of a joint space. This can be caused by a wound that penetrates the joint allowing bacteria to enter, complications following surgery, or by bacteria traveling from distant sites via the bloodstream into the joint.
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this disease:
Treatment involves eradicating the infection with a combination of antibiotics and surgical intervention. Surgery involves washing the joint to eliminate bacteria, this can be done with minimally invasive or open techniques. In some cases, like joint replacements, any implants may need to be removed to eliminate the infection and later replaced.
Ross JJ. Septic Arthritis of Native Joints. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2017 Jun;31(2):203-218. doi: 10.1016/j.idc.2017.01.001. Epub 2017 Mar 30. PMID: 28366221.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0891552017300016?via%3DihubHorowitz DL, Katzap E, Horowitz S, Barilla-LaBarca ML. Approach to septic arthritis. Am Fam Physician. 2011 Sep 15;84(6):653-60. PMID: 21916390.
https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2011/0915/p653.htmlGarcía-Arias M, Balsa A, Mola EM. Septic arthritis. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2011 Jun;25(3):407-21. doi: 10.1016/j.berh.2011.02.001. PMID: 22100289.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1521694211000258?via%3DihubWall C, Donnan L. Septic arthritis in children. Aust Fam Physician. 2015 Apr;44(4):213-5. PMID: 25901405.
https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2015/april/septic-arthritis-in-children/Male, 30s
I got more answers in one minute through your site than I did in three hours with Google.
(Sep 29, 2024)
Male, 20s
My experience was great. I was worried, but the symptom checker helped me narrow down what it might be. I feel a little relieved compared to when I first started, and it gives me a starting point for what my symptoms could mean.
(Sep 27, 2024)
Male, 50s
The questions asked and possible causes seemed spot on, putting me at ease for a next-step solution.
(Sep 26, 2024)
Female, 40s
I was actually very impressed with the results it provided because, although I didn’t mention it during the questionnaire because I thought it was unrelated, it suggested I may have something I’ve actually been diagnosed with in the past.
(Sep 25, 2024)
Reviewed By:
Kent C Doan, MD (Orthopedics)
Dr Doan Graduated from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine and completed residency training in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Colorado. He completed additional fellowship training in Orthopedic Sports Medicine at the prestigious Steadman Clinic and Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Vail, Colorado. He is a practicing Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in complex and revision knee and shoulder surgery at the Kansas City Orthopedic Institute. He also holds an assistant professorship at the University of Kansas City.
Tomohiro Hamahata, MD (Orthopedics)
Dr. Hamahata graduated from the Jikei University of Medical Science. After working at Asanokawa General Hospital and Kosei Chuo Hospital, he joined the Department of Orthopedics at Asakusa Hospital in April 2021, specializing in general orthopedics and joint replacement surgery.
Our symptom checker AI is continuously refined with input from experienced physicians, empowering them to make more accurate diagnoses.
“World’s Best Digital
Health Companies”
Newsweek 2024
“Best With AI”
Google Play Best of 2023
“Best in Class”
Digital Health Awards 2023 (Quarterfinalist)
Which is the best Symptom Checker?
Ubie’s symptom checker demonstrated a Top-10 hit accuracy of 71.6%, surpassing the performance of several leading symptom checkers in the market, which averaged around 60% accuracy in similar assessments.
Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1