Gout and septic arthritis of the knee

I assume they followed standard infection prevention protocols before the cortisol? I wonder if the knee infection wasn’t already in place before the injection. Maybe the needle drug that bacteria through more tissue on its way in and out. You will likely never know for sure.

I had gout once and It was dreadful. I tested negative for it tho. Later when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, my Doc surmised that the ”gout” was likely my first RA symptom.

gem13, God Bless You! Here's a thought although different, but, hopefully could help. My husband is very prone to gout (nothing like what you are experiencing or due to cortisone injection & infection) and it is painful. He can get it in any joint. He is daily on Allopurinol 300 mg and if he has a flare up, he is to take colchicine (Sp?) which works within hours. Both of these are prescription meds. His dad had gout and gout is a form of arthritis. Pork, Shrimp and orange juice can be culprits for flareups in a lot of people. I'm so sorry that you are experiencing this. I can't imagine how much pain you are in. I know it is frustrating. Praying for you.

Thank you for your kind response. I appreciate the feedback and experience. I hope your husband is gout-free and pain-free currently. It’s no fun.

Thank you for your reply. I think after I recover from my current situation, I will check into rheumatologists.

8 months ago I had an active GI bleed and had a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy performed in a local high level hospital. After waking up from anesthesia, I couldn't bend my knee and it hurt very much. They tested and treated me for gout with alpurinol and cicclichine for 3 or 4 days with no improvement, I got worse. They drained the fluid from my knee and cultured it and it was a staff infection that got into my blood and caused septic arthritis. They told me I picked up the bacteria on my skin and it got into my blood. I have a weak immune system due to other health conditions, and was told it is very common and very easy to get a staff infection in a hospital. They debriged my knee twice within a week, and here I am 8 months later still in alot of pain, still some swelling and very limited mobility with alot of cracking noises in my knee. X rays revealed severe degenerative changes in the areas where the knee and the shin and thigh connect and osteoarthritis. I have been told that a knee replacement is completely out of the question due to my high risk for infection. They are discussing cortisone injectons or nerve blocks, but I'm terrified of infection, so I don't know what to do. My quality of life is definitely not what it was and I feel permanently disabled from it all.

I’m so sorry to hear what you’ve gone through. Our stories are a little similar in terms of an infection in the knee joint and septic arthritis. Of all things, mine was a strep infection, and they speculated that it was introduced into my body from the cortisone injection, the needle, and perhaps the skin not being cleaned thoroughly by the physician’s assistant. I also had debridement of the knee joint. I also have been told that I can never have a knee replacement due to the risk of infection. I can have one on my right knee if I so desire, but I’m like you, I don’t relish the thought of surgery or needles after my experience.

Not that it’s any consolation, but I was told that the pain I was in was equivalent to having a knee joint replacement without an actual replacement.

My pain is back to what it was before I had the cortisone injections. I’ve thought about trying some of these non-invasive treatment recommendations. My friend told me about something called cold laser therapy, which is not invasive to the body. I read yesterday that a knee brace was found to be the most helpful non-surgical remedy for people with osteoarthritic knees. If your knees are still swollen, that could be difficult. I have two braces that were prescribed, but the best brace I found came off of Amazon for about $25.

So this is what my experience has been. I hope that you can get some relief somehow.