Sacroiliac joint infection

Jon CHUA ¹, Kamal JAMIL ¹, Kamalnizat IBRAHIM ¹, Suraya AZIZ ²

¹ Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, and ² Department of Radiology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Sacroiliac joint infection is a rare condition. It is frequently missed and the diagnosis is often delayed. Clinical features are non-specific and range from back pain to hip or thigh pain. Fever may be absent. The diagnosis is established by the use of magnetic resonance imaging. The infection responds well to medical therapy. The prognosis is usually good. Surgical treatment includes debridement and occasionally arthrodesis. Two contrasting cases of unilateral sacroiliac joint infections are presented to highlight the clinical and radiological features of this condition. The patients presented are a 19-year-old male with pyogenic sacroiliitis and a 16-year-old female with tuberculous sacroiliitis. Both responded well to medical therapy and did not require surgical treatment.

Keywords: Sacroiliitis, sacroiliac joint infection, pyogenic, tuberculous, magnetic resonance imaging

Correspondence author: Kamal JAMIL. Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Cheras Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: 006-03-91455555 Fax: 006-03-91458609

E mail: drkortho@gmail.com

Brunei Int Med J. 2015; 11 (2): 110-114