Pyogenic arthritis and rheumatoid disease: the importance of the infected foot.

During a nine-year period (1968--76) 75 patients were admitted to Coventry Hospitals becaues of pyogenic arthritis. Of these patients, 22 suffered from pre-existing rheumatoid disease, and in these the foot was the most common site of primary infection. Adequate and energetic management of foot problems and associated skin sepsis in patients suffering from rheumatoid disease appears to offer the best opportunity of reducing the incidence of superimposed pyogenic arthritis.