Fowler ML, et al. – Authors investigated clinical characteristics, microbiology, and outcomes of patients with contaminated synovial fluid (SF) and compared them with patients with true septic arthritis (SA). In this study, patients with contaminated SF presented with less severe disease and had better outcomes. More than a third of these cases received new rheumatologic diagnoses within 1 year. A conservative approach was recommended for patients with suspected contaminated SF, mild symptoms, and no bacterial growth within the first 48 h.