Clostridium perfringens surgical site infection after osteotomy for knee deformity correction in a non-immunocompromised child.
BACKGROUND
Clostridium perfringens myonecrosis following an elective surgical procedure in a previously healthy child is a rare incident.


METHODS
Case report and literature review.


RESULTS
A two-year old boy admitted for elective bilateral osteotomies of tibiae was detected to be febrile at day one post-operatively with crepitus felt at his left ankle. An emergency wound debridement was performed followed by a course of antibiotics. Clostridium perfringens was isolated from tissue culture. His wound was later covered with a split-thickness skin graft.


CONCLUSIONS
Clostridium perfringens infection following a surgical procedure in a healthy child is rare. A high index of suspicion is important to recognize this debilitating infection.
1 Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .
Abdul Halim
AH
Abd Rashid
Ramliza
R
Ramli
Sharaf
S
Ibrahim
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007717:Knee / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D010027:Osteotomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000382:microbiology*