Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Difference Between

Home / Health / Medicine / Diseases / What is the Difference Between Septic Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis

What is the Difference Between Septic Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis

January 8, 2022 Posted by Dr.Samanthi

The key difference between septic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is that septic arthritis is swelling and tenderness of joints in the body due to an infection caused by a germ such as a bacterium, while rheumatoid arthritis is swelling and tenderness of joints in the body due to an autoimmune disease.

Arthritis is a medical condition that causes swelling and tenderness of one or more joints in the body. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness. There are different causes for arthritis. Based on these different causes, arthritis is classified as osteoarthritis, septic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, and lupus.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Septic Arthritis  
3. What is Rheumatoid Arthritis
4. Similarities – Septic Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
5. Septic Arthritis vs Rheumatoid Arthritis in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Septic Arthritis vs Rheumatoid Arthritis

What is Septic Arthritis?

Septic arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of joints in the body due to an infection caused by a germ such as bacteria. This infection can come from germs that travel through the bloodstream from another part of the body. This condition can also occur when a penetrating injury (animal bite or trauma) delivers the germs directly into the joints. Normally, septic arthritis is more likely to develop in infants and older adults. People who have artificial joints also have the risk of getting septic arthritis. Moreover, septic arthritis mainly affects the knee. But it can also affect hips, shoulders, and other joints. These infections can quickly and severely damage the cartilage and bone in the joints.

Septic Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis - Side by Side Comparison

Figure 01: Septic Arthritis

The common symptoms may include discomfort and difficulty when using joints, swollen joints, redness and warmness in the affected area, fever, joint pain, loosening of joints, and dislocated joints. The cause of this medical condition includes infections by bacteria such as Staphylococci, Haemophilus influenzae, gram-negative Bacilli, Streptococci, Gonococci, and viruses. Furthermore, septic arthritis can be diagnosed through the removal of joint fluid and testing for bacteria, blood tests, phlegm tests, spinal fluid tests, and urine tests. The treatments may include draining pus from the joints through a needle, tube, or surgery, aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen for pain and fever, physical therapy to keep muscle strength, and fixing a splint on a joint to relieve pain.

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of joints in the body due to autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disorder occurs when one’s own immune system mistakenly attacks the own body’s tissues. Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects the lining of the joints. This causes a painful swelling that can eventually result in bone erosion and joint deformity.

Septic Arthritis vs Rheumatoid Arthritis in Tabular Form

Figure 02: Rheumatoid Arthritis

The signs and symptoms may include tender, warm, swollen joints, joint stiffness that worsens in the morning and after inactivity, fatigue, fever, and loss of appetite. Furthermore, about 40% of people may experience signs and symptoms in areas that don’t involve joints: skin, eyes, lungs, heart, kidneys, salivary gland, nerve tissue, bone marrow, and blood vessels. The diagnosis of this condition is carried out through physical examination, blood tests (checking for elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C reactive protein), and imaging tests (X-ray, MRI). Treatments options for this rheumatoid arthritis include anti-inflammatory drugs such as NSAIDs and steroids, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs such as conventional DMDRDs, biologic agents and targeted synthetic DMDRDs, physical and occupational therapy, and surgeries like synovectomy, tendon repair, joint fusion, and joint replacement.

What are the Similarities Between Septic Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis?

  • Septic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are two different types of arthritis conditions.
  • Both conditions mainly affect the joints of the body.
  • These conditions have common symptoms such as tender, warm, swollen joints.
  • They are treatable with medications and surgeries.

What is the Difference Between Septic Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Septic arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of joints in the body due to an infection caused by a germ such as bacteria, while rheumatoid arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of joints in the body due to an autoimmune disease. Thus, this is the key difference between septic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Furthermore, the incidence of septic arthritis is 7.8 per 100,000 persons in the USA and European countries. On the other hand, the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis is 40 per 100,000 persons in the USA and European countries.

The below infographic presents the differences between septic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Septic Arthritis vs Rheumatoid Arthritis

Septic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are two different types of arthritis conditions. Septic arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of joints in the body due to an infection caused by a germ such as bacteria, while rheumatoid arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of joints in the body due to autoimmune disease. So, this summarizes the difference between septic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Reference:

1. “Septic Arthritis.” Johns Hopkins Medicine.
2. “Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Image Courtesy:

1. “X-ray of septic arthritis of the hip” By Article authors: Ruiz Santiago, Fernando; Santiago Chinchilla, Alicia; Ansari, Afshin; Guzmán Álvarez, Luis; Castellano García, Maria del Mar; Martínez Martínez, Alberto; Tercedor Sánchez, Juan – (2016). “Imaging of Hip Pain: From Radiography to Cross-Sectional Imaging Techniques”. Radiology Research and Practice 2016: 1–15. DOI:10.1155/2016/6369237. ISSN 2090-1941. (CC BY 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Rheumatoid arthritis — Smart-Servier (cropped)” By Laboratoires Servier – Smart Servier website: Images related to Rheumatoid arthritis, Skeleton and bones and Bones. (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia

Related posts:

Bronchitis vs whooping coughDifference Between Bronchitis and Whooping Cough       Difference Between ALS and MSDifference Between ALS and MS (Multiple Sclerosis)          Difference Between Testicular Cancer and CystDifference Between Testicular Cancer and Cyst (Scrotal Cyst) Difference Between Von Willebrand Disease and HemophiliaDifference Between Von Willebrand Disease and Hemophilia Difference Between TMJ and Trigeminal NeuralgiaDifference Between TMJ and Trigeminal Neuralgia

Filed Under: Diseases

About the Author: Dr.Samanthi

Dr. Samanthi Udayangani holds a BSc special degree in Plant Science, a M Sc. in Molecular and Applied Microbiology and a PhD in Applied Microbiology. She has more than eight years of research experience in the fields of beneficial soil microorganisms and Biofertilizers. Her research interests are Nitrogen fixing bacteria, Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms and plant-microbe interactions. She writes articles in the subjects of Microbiology, Pathology, Diseases, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Botany. You can read her researches on ResearchGate

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request Article

Featured Posts

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

You May Like

Difference Between Differentiation and Morphogenesis

Difference Between Differentiation and Morphogenesis

Difference Between Overloading and Overriding in Java

Difference Between Overloading and Overriding in Java

Difference Between Mrs and Ms

Difference Between Mrs and Ms

Difference Between What You Say and What You Do

Difference Between Male and Female Frogs

Latest Posts

  • What is the Difference Between Bioavailability and Bioequivalence
  • What is the Difference Between Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics
  • What is the Difference Between Tarsal and Metatarsal
  • What is the Difference Between Confidence and Cockiness
  • What is the Difference Between Retinoschisis and Retinal Detachment
  • What is the Difference Between Shin Splint and Stress Fracture
  • Home
  • Vacancies
  • About
  • Request Article
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2010-2018 Difference Between. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal.