Pasteurella multocida Arthritis and Osteomyelitis

Six months after a cat bit his wrist, a patient with rheumatoid arthritis was found to have septic arthritis of the joint and osteomyelitis of the greater multangulum. Pasteurella multocida was cultured from the purulent joint fluid. The arthritis responded readily to penicillin G potassium therapy given parenterally, but curettage of the affected carpal bone was necessary to restore wrist function. Three of the six patients with P multocida arthritis had preexisting rheumatoid arthritis and were receiving antiinflammatory drugs.