Background: Currently the recommended duration of antibiotic therapy for native joint bacterial arthritis is 3-6 weeks based on expert opinion.
Study design: Prospective, unblinded, randomized, noninferiority.
Setting: Single center in Geneva.
Synopsis: In total, 154 patients were randomized to either 2 weeks or 4 weeks of antibiotic regimen selected in consultation with infectious disease specialists after surgical drainage of native joint bacterial arthritis.
The study population was 38% women with a median age of 51 years. Sites of infection were majority hand and wrist arthritis (64%). The most frequent pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus (31%) with no methicillin-resistant strains. There was a low incidence of patients with bacteremia (4%) and chronic immune compromise (10%). Antibiotic regimen varied with 13 different initial intravenous regimens and 11 different oral regimens.
The primary study outcome was rate of recurrent infection within 2 years, which was low with only one recurrence in the 2-week arm and two recurrences in the 4-week arm. This difference was well within the 10% noninferiority margin selected by the authors.
The study was underpowered for nonhand and nonwrist cases, limiting generalizability.
Bottom line: Consider a shorter duration of antibiotic therapy after surgical drainage for native joint bacterial arthritis of the hand and wrist in an otherwise healthy patient.
Citation: Gjika E et al. Two weeks versus four weeks of antibiotic therapy after surgical drainage for native joint bacterial arthritis: a prospective, randomized, non-inferiority trial. Ann Rheum Dis. 2019 Aug;78(8):1114-21.
Dr. Zarookian is a hospitalist at Maine Medical Center in Portland and Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway, Maine.
