Sternoclavicular Septic Arthritis Caused by Acupuncture over the Posterior Neck
  • Bang-Min Liu
    Emergency Department, Shin-Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei 111, Taiwan
  • Tzong-Luen Wang
    Emergency Department, Shin-Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei 111, Taiwan School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei 242, Taiwan
  • Shihwen Hung
    Emergency Department, Shin-Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei 111, Taiwan School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei 242, Taiwan

Keywords

sternoclavicular joint, septic arthritis, acupuncture

Abstract

Acupuncture has been used therapeutically for thousands of years and is considered a relatively safe procedure. Sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) arthritis is a rare joint infection and has never been reported as an adverse event of acupuncture. We report the case of a 50-year-old woman who presented with progressive left neck, shoulder and upper chest pain after acupuncture. A computerized tomography (CT) scan revealed septic arthritis over the left sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia was noted. The patient was discharged uneventfully after intravenous antibiotic treatment. SCJ septic arthritis should be considered if unilateral neck and upper chest pain occurs after acupuncture.

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References

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    Published: 2015-04-14
    Issue: Vol. 2 No. 2 (2015) (view)

    How to cite:
    1.
    Liu B-M, Wang T-L, Hung S. Sternoclavicular Septic Arthritis Caused by Acupuncture over the Posterior Neck. EJCRIM 2015;2 doi:10.12890/2015_000188.