Should joint lavage be performed in the treatment of juvenile canine spontaneous/haematogenous septic arthritis?

Question In dogs less than 18 months old, with spontaneous/haematogenous bacterial septic arthritis, how effective is treatment with joint lavage and antimicrobial therapy compared to antimicrobial therapy alone? Clinical bottom line The category of research question was: Treatment. The number and type of study designs that were critically appraised were: One case series of 5 dogs. Critical appraisal of the selected papers meeting the inclusion criteria collectively provide zero/weak/moderate/strong evidence in terms of their experimental design and implementation: Weak. The outcomes reported are summarised as follows… Successful clinical outcomes were reported in patients both with and without joint lavage. In view of the strength of evidence and the outcomes from the studies the following conclusion is made… No conclusions can be made regarding the impact of joint lavage on haematogenous septic arthritis in juvenile dogs as excellent outcomes were achieved in patients with and without lavage. However appropriate antibiosis continues to be pertinent with one case persistently infected when inappropriate antibiotics were selected.