kocher_septic_arthritis: Kocher Criteria for Septic Arthritis

In cliot: Clinical Indices and Outcomes Tools

Kocher Criteria for Septic Arthritis

Description

Calculates the Kocher Score to estimate the probability of septic arthritis in a pediatric patient presenting with a painful hip. The score is based on four clinical predictors: non-weight bearing, fever, elevated ESR, and elevated WBC count.

Usage

kocher_septic_arthritis(non_weight_bearing, temp_gt_38_5, esr_gt_40, wbc_gt_12000)

Arguments

non_weight_bearing	Numeric (0 or 1). Is the patient unable to bear weight on the affected side? (1 = Yes).
temp_gt_38_5	Numeric (0 or 1). Is the patient's temperature > 38.5 degrees Celsius? (1 = Yes).
esr_gt_40	Numeric (0 or 1). Is the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) > 40 mm/hr? (1 = Yes).
wbc_gt_12000	Numeric (0 or 1). Is the White Blood Cell (WBC) count > 12,000 cells/mm^3? (1 = Yes).

Value

A list containing:

Kocher_Score	The calculated score (Range 0-4).
Septic_Arthritis_Probability	Estimated probability of septic arthritis based on the original validation data.

References

Kocher MS, Zurakowski D, Kasser JR. Differentiating between septic arthritis and transient synovitis of the hip in children: an evidence-based clinical prediction algorithm. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1999;81(12):1662-1670.

Examples

# Example 1: High Probability
# Non-weight bearing (1), Fever (1), ESR 50 (1), WBC 15k (1)
# Score = 4
kocher_septic_arthritis(1, 1, 1, 1)

# Example 2: Low Probability
# Non-weight bearing (1), No fever, ESR 10, WBC 8k
# Score = 1
kocher_septic_arthritis(1, 0, 0, 0)

cliot documentation built on Dec. 1, 2025, 1:06 a.m.