Bilateral knee periprosthetic infection with Mycobacterium fortuitum.
Periprosthetic infections after total joint arthroplasty are infrequent but potentially devastating complications. Gram-positive bacteria is the typical causative organism. However, uncommon sources such as Mycobacterium fortuitum have been documented in the literature. We report a case, the first to our knowledge, of bilateral infections involving this organism after total knee arthroplasty. M. fortuitum is notoriously resistant to many standard antibacterial medications, and a delay in initial diagnosis due to inadequate incubation time has been reported. In poor surgical candidates, long-term antibiotic suppression may be a viable alternative.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107, USA.
Manny D
MD
Porat
Matthew S
MS
Austin
D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery; D007720:Knee Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D019907:Mycobacterium fortuitum; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D012086:Reoperation
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents