Acidosis of Synovial Fluid Correlates with Synovial Fluid Leukocytosis
THOMAS T. WARD,
M.D.
ROY T. STEIGBIGEL. M.D.* Rochester, New York
From the Infectious Disease Unit of the Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York. This study was supported in part by the U.S. Public Health Service (5 T32 Al00137-02) and a grant from the Schering Corporation. Requests for reprints shoukl be addressed to Dr. Roy T. Steigbigel Infectious Disease Unit, Department of Medicine, Box MED, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, New York 14642. Manuscript accepted November 21, 1977. Present address: Infectious Disease Unit, V.A. Hospital, Sam Jackson Park, Portland, Oregon 97217. l
The antfbacterial activity of aminoglycoside antibiotics is signiftcantly reduced by lowering the pH of the incubation medium. Since gram-negative septic arthritis responds poorly to aminoglycbside antibiotic therapy, we sought to determine whether synovfal fluid acidosis contributes to this poor outcome. Synovial fluid samples from 22 patients with various forms of acute and chronic arthritis were examined for white blood cell count and pH. A close correlation (r = -0.92, p
THOMAS T. WARD,
M.D.
ROY T. STEIGBIGEL. M.D.* Rochester, New York
From the Infectious Disease Unit of the Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York. This study was supported in part by the U.S. Public Health Service (5 T32 Al00137-02) and a grant from the Schering Corporation. Requests for reprints shoukl be addressed to Dr. Roy T. Steigbigel Infectious Disease Unit, Department of Medicine, Box MED, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, New York 14642. Manuscript accepted November 21, 1977. Present address: Infectious Disease Unit, V.A. Hospital, Sam Jackson Park, Portland, Oregon 97217. l
The antfbacterial activity of aminoglycoside antibiotics is signiftcantly reduced by lowering the pH of the incubation medium. Since gram-negative septic arthritis responds poorly to aminoglycbside antibiotic therapy, we sought to determine whether synovfal fluid acidosis contributes to this poor outcome. Synovial fluid samples from 22 patients with various forms of acute and chronic arthritis were examined for white blood cell count and pH. A close correlation (r = -0.92, p
