A Technique of Continuous Catheter Irrigation in an Infected Wrist Joint: Improving Management in Septic Arthritis of the Wrist

Septic arthritis of the wrist though decidedly rare can lead to severe consequences with loss of form and function of the hand. The approach to diagnosis and treatment remains challenging and may need multiple surgeries, prolonged hospital stays along with intravenous antibiotics for restitution of a pain and disease-free functioning wrist. Arthroscopic washout of the wrist joint, has paved the way for a less invasive and more effective approach to the management of the condition reducing the number of operations needed and the need for open wrist washout. In our paper, we describe in addition to arthroscopic washout of an infected wrist joint the insertion of irrigation catheters followed by continuous irrigation with normal saline through the catheters using an infusion pump for 5 days leading to resolution of symptoms without further surgical interventions.