Clinical perception of arthrocentesis and the utility of synovial fluid analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35366/118255Keywords:
Arthrocentesis, Clinical perception, Synovial fluid, Diagnosis, AnalysisAbstract
Introduction: Synovial fluid (SF) analysis provides useful information about the degree of inflammation, which is why it remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of crystal and septic arthritis; however, in some cases it can be problematic for health care professionals due to technical difficulties in correctly performing the analysis.
Objective: To investigate the perception of physicians and health care personnel regarding the usefulness of arthrocentesis and SF analysis in clinical practice.
Material and methods: A questionnaire with 22 questions was developed and applied after the course II Training for the correct identification and interpretation of crystals in the SF. A descriptive statistical analysis was carried out
Results: Ninety-six people were interviewed, with a mean age of 37.1 ± 9.32 years. This population consisted of men (45.8%) and women (54.2%), of whom 68.4% were specialists. By specialty, 66.7% were in rheumatology, 12.2% in internal medicine and 3.3% in orthopedics. Of the total number of physicians surveyed, 47.2% did not perform SF analysis due to lack of equipment and supplies in the practice or lack of experience and/or skill in performing the analysis; however, 52.8% reported always sending the sample to the laboratory, 21.3% often, 14.6% almost never, and 11.2% never. Twenty-seven point six % thought that SF analysis often changed their diagnosis and 17.2% always did.
Conclusions: SF analysis remains essential for a diagnostic approach. Encouraging the performance of SF analysis by rheumatologists and residents of rheumatology and orthopedic services deserves all possible efforts to provide a more accurate diagnosis.
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