The antibiotics are for the potential of this being an infectious arthritis. Doctors do that...as a precaution.
And in a way it is a therapeutic "challenge". If she resolves with this intervention it more or less points to an infectious process.
If she does NOT respond...it means one of two things.
1) it is not an infectious process
2) the antibiotic is the wrong type--and a biopsy is needed. Typically this is a needle aspiration of the joint.
Removing some fluid can show both types of gout, and infectious organisms.
But in a kid, they won't do that until there is no response to conservative care, so far attempted. Many doctors know that things often resolve on their own, and they may wait for that.
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All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.-- Galileo Galilei
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Weezie looking at petunias 8.25.2017
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