Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which patient demographics, clinical presentation, and blood parameters vary in septic arthritis when compared with those of other organisms, and whether this difference needs to be considered when assessing children in whom a diagnosis of septic arthritis is suspected.
Methods: A prospective case series was undertaken at a single UK paediatric institution between October 2012 and November 2018 of all patients referred with suspected septic arthritis. We recorded the clinical, biochemical, and microbiological findings in all patients.