Septic arthritis – hip

Septic arthritis. This is a 39 year old intravenous drug abuser. Amongst the many potential complications of IV drug abuse, septic arthritis is one that may have severe long-term consequences. In this case, by the time the patient presented with hip pain, his left femoral head had completely dissolved and his acetabulum had also been eroded. Pus was aspirated from the hip under fluoroscopic guidance – Staph aureus was cultured from the aspirate.