Group G streptococcal arthritis.

Five patients were seen in the UCLA hospital system with septic arthritis due to group G Streptococcus. All had prior joint disease or surgery on the affected joint. Findings from physical examination and laboratory evaluation were typical for pyogenic arthritis. Response to antimicrobial therapy was slow and marked by recurrent sterile joint effusions. Group G streptococcal arthritis may be diagnosed more frequently if routine serologic grouping of streptococcal isolates from joint fluid samples is performed. Such identification may also have prognostic significance.