ro13-9904 and Joint-Diseases

To report on the differential diagnosis of lyme arthritis and synovial hemangioma due to similar clinical and radiological signs and symptoms. A 15-year-old boy presented at the age of 9 with recurrent rather painless swelling of the right knee. Altogether four episodes lasting for 1-2 weeks each occurred over a period of 18 months before medical advice was sought. Physical examination revealed only a slightly limited range of motion. Living in an endemic area of borreliosis, he reported a tick bite 6 months prior to onset of his symptoms with erythema migrans and was treated for 10 days with amoxicillin. Serology revealed two positive unspecific bands in IgG immunoblot (p41 and 66) with slight positivity for ELISA. Ultrasound revealed synovial thickening and increased fluid. Despite the weak positive serology a diagnosis of lyme arthritis could not be excluded and intravenous antibiotic treatment with ceftriaxone was started. After two further relapses antiinflammatory therapy including intraarticular steroids were introduced with no long lasting effect. A chronical disease developed with alternate periods of swelling and almost complete remission. Ultrasound as well as MRI demonstrated ongoing signs of synovitis, therefore after further progression, a diagnostic arthroscopy was performed showing an inconspicuous knee joint. A second MRI showed focal suprapatellar enhancement and was followed by open arthrotomy revealing a histopathological proven synovial cavernous juxtaarticular hemangioma. To our knowledge, the differential diagnosis of lyme arthritis and synovial hemangioma has not yet been reported despite obvious clinical similarities. In conclusion, in children and adolescents synovial hemangioma has to be considered in differential diagnosis of recurrent knee swelling. Early diagnosis is important to prevent prolonged suffering from chronic joint swelling with probable joint damages, unnecessary treatment procedures and as well school and sports absenteeism.

Topics: Adolescent; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Arthroscopy; Ceftriaxone; Diagnosis, Differential; Hemangioma; Humans; Joint Diseases; Knee; Lyme Disease; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Range of Motion, Articular; Synovial Membrane; Synovitis; Ultrasonography

The effect of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha treatment in Borrelia burgdorferi-infected and ceftriaxone-treated C3H/He mice was evaluated.. Mice were infected with B. garinii A218 or B. burgdorferi sensu stricto N40. At 2 weeks of infection, one group was treated simultaneously with ceftriaxone and anti-TNF-alpha, whereas another received ceftriaxone at 2 weeks and anti-TNF-alpha 4 weeks later. One group received ceftriaxone treatment only. Infected and noninfected control groups were sham treated.. At 14 weeks of infection, B. burgdorferi could not be detected by cultivation or by polymerase chain reaction in tissue samples of any mouse treated with ceftriaxone only. However, spirochetes grew from the tissue samples of one-third of the mice treated with anti-TNF-alpha simultaneously or 4 weeks after ceftriaxone. These activated spirochetes showed ceftriaxone sensitivity rates, plasmid profiles, and virulence rates similar to those of bacteria used to infect the mice. All infected control mice and mice given anti-TNF-alpha only were culture positive.. This report shows that, after ceftriaxone treatment for 5 days, a portion of B. burgdorferi-infected mice still have live spirochetes in their body, which are activated by anti-TNF-alpha treatment.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibodies; Borrelia burgdorferi; Borrelia burgdorferi Group; Ceftriaxone; Disease Models, Animal; Immunoglobulin G; Joint Diseases; Kinetics; Lyme Disease; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Rats; Spirochaetales; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

We wanted to study the pathogenesis and the long-term manifestations of Borrelia garinii infection in SJL and C3H/He mice. We report here that B. garinii A218 causes a persisting infection in these mouse strains. Mice infected with intracutaneous inoculation of B. garinii at 4-5 weeks of age developed a disseminated infection and joint swelling within 2 weeks of inoculation and remained infected with joint symptoms until the end of follow-ups of up to 52 weeks. Treatment with ceftriaxone or ampicillin at 18 or 44 weeks of infection did not affect the joint swelling during the follow-ups of 19 and 8 weeks, respectively. However, B. garinii could not be cultured from any of the post mortem tissue samples of the treated mice, whereas the spirochete grew from samples of all untreated infected animals. Borrelia-specific IgG antibodies were detectable after 2 weeks of infection, and in late infection, all mice had high anti-borrelia IgG levels. Antibiotic treatment had no effect on antibody levels. Histology showed only slight changes in the joints of the infected mice with occasional lymphocyte infiltration, synovial proliferation and slight involvement of the Achilles' tendon. No difference was seen in the findings between ceftriaxone-treated and untreated mice. The results suggest that the presence of vegetative spirochetes is no prerequisite for persisting joint symptoms and elevated anti-borrelia IgG levels in these B. garinii-infected mice.

Topics: Achilles Tendon; Ampicillin; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibodies, Bacterial; Borrelia burgdorferi Group; Ceftriaxone; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Histocytochemistry; Immunoglobulin G; Joint Diseases; Joints; Lyme Disease; Lymphocytes; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Synovial Membrane

Topics: Adolescent; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Ceftriaxone; Female; Humans; Joint Diseases; Knee Joint; Meningococcal Infections; Neisseria meningitidis; Range of Motion, Articular; Synovial Fluid

We investigated the combination of teicoplanin and ceftriaxone for its bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae type b and Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from bone and joint infections in children. An increase in bactericidal activity was observed against isolates of S. aureus and H. influenzae when the antibiotics were tested at fractional MICs whereas indifference was observed at their MICs. Similar results were obtained at fractional MICs against S.pneumoniae, but the bactericidal activity fell by more than 1 x log 10 cfu/mL when the antibiotics were tested at or above their MICs.

Topics: Bacterial Infections; Bone Diseases; Ceftriaxone; Child, Preschool; Drug Interactions; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Drug Therapy, Combination; Haemophilus Infections; Humans; Infant; Joint Diseases; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Penicillin G; Pneumococcal Infections; Staphylococcal Infections; Teicoplanin