Chronic destructive oligoarthritis associated with Propionibacterium acnes in a female patient with acne vulgaris: septic-reactive arthritis?

Propionibacterium acnes is an anaerobic bacillus implicated in certain chronic arthritides. This report describes an HLA-B27+ 17-year-old woman with acne vulgaris who presented with rapidly destructive arthritis in the left shoulder as well as an evolving left subclavicular adenopathy. One year later, arthritis was detected in the left knee; the inflammatory synovial fluid was sterile.