Three Episodes of Presumed Culture-Negative Septic Arthritis Following Intramuscular Antipsychotic Injections

Abstract

Case: We present a male patient of low socioeconomic status and Māori ethnicity who experienced 3 episodes of presumed culture-negative septic arthritis of the native hip between ages 43 and 52 years. Each episode occurred within 3 weeks of intramuscular antipsychotic injection into the ipsilateral gluteal muscles. The right hip was involved in 2 presentations and the left hip in 1 presentation. No coexisting infection or underlying immune suppression was identified, and at follow-up 2 years after the last episode, he has no sequelae of septic arthritis. Conclusion: This report describes 3 episodes of presumed culture-negative septic arthritis after intramuscular antipsychotic injection.