Arthritis
•       inflammation
of the joints
•       Over
200 forms of arthritis. 
•       About
30% of adults have arthritis.
•       Major
symptom - pain in or around joints
•       often
a constant and may be localized to the joint affected
Risk Factors for Arthritis
•       Age
> 40 years 
•       Women
> men 
•       Obesity
•       Previous
joint injury
•       Ethnic
background
Common types
•       Ankylosing
spondylitis 
•       Gout
and pseudo-gout 
•       Juvenile
idiopathic arthritis 
•       Osteoarthritis
•       Rheumatoid
arthritis 
•       Septic
arthritis 
•       Still's
disease 
Osteoarthritis
•       most
common form of arthritis
•       can
affect both larger and smaller joints of the body, including the hands, feet,
back, hip or knee
•       acquired
from daily wear and tear of the joint
•       begins
in the cartilage and eventually causes the two opposing bones to erode into
each other
•       starts
with minor pain while walking 
•       Later
pain can be continuous and even occur at night
•       affects
weight bearing joints such as back, spine, and pelvis 
•       disease
of the elderly
•       Risk
factors: prior joint trauma, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle
•       Common
sites of osteoarthritis
•       hips
•       knees
•       hands,
especially base of thumb
•       base
of great toe
•       spine
Rheumatoid arthritis
•       disorder
in which the body's own immune system starts to attack body tissues
•       not
only directed at the joint but to many other parts of the body
•       most
damage occurs to the joint lining and cartilage which eventually results in
erosion of two opposing bones
•       often
affects joints in the fingers, wrists, knees and elbows
•       disease
is symmetrical (appears on both sides of the body) and can lead to severe
deformity in a few years if not treated
Gout
- caused by deposition of uric acid crystals in the joint, causing inflammation
- Crystals of uric acid form inside a joint and cause inflammation, which makes the joint red, hot, swollen and painful
- runs in families
- more common in men, women after menopause
- Other risk factors include -
- obesity
- high blood pressure
- drinking too much alcohol
- kidney failure
- uncommon form of gouty arthritis caused by the formation of rhomboid crystals of calcium pyrophosphate known aspseudogout
Serious types of arthritis
- Lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus)
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Scleroderma
- Sjogren’s syndome
- Lyme disease
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Infectious arthritis
Route of infection
•       dissemination
of pathogens via the blood, from distant site…. (most common)
•       dissemination
from an acute osteomylitic  focus
•       dissemination
from adjacent soft tissue infection, 
•       entry
via penetrating trauma 
•       entry
via iatrogenic means 
Pathology
•       acute
synovitis with a purulent joint effusion
•       Synovial
membrane becomes edematous, swollen and hyperemic, and produces increase amount
of cloudy exudates contains leukocytes and bacteria
•       As
infection spread through the joint, articular cartilage is destroyed by
bacterial and cellular enzymes
•       cartilage
may be completely destroyed
•       Pus
may burst out of the joint to form abscesses and sinuses.
•       The
joint may be become pathologically dislocated.
Clinical presentation
•       Typical
features are acute pain and swelling in a single large joint ,commonly the
hip in children and the knee in adults, however any joint can be affected.
•       The
most commonly involved joint is the knee (50% of cases), followed by the hip
(20%), shoulder (8%), ankle (7%), and wrists (7%). interphalangeal,
sternoclavicular, and sacroiliac joints each make up 1-4% of cases. 
