Hematogenous infection of total hip arthroplasty due to clostridium perfringens: a case report / 中华骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

A case report of periprosthetic hip clostridium perfringens infection 13 years after total hip arthroplasty, the pa?tient had hip pain with fever for one week. Physical examination and imaging examination confirmed the periprosthetic joint infec?tion. The pathogenic bacterium was clostridium perfringens according to bacterial culture, and the pathogenic bacterium of clos?tridium perfringens was suspected relating to the gallbladder disease in this patient. Considering such periprosthetic joint infection was early stage hematogenous periprosthetic joint infection, treatment of debridement, retention of the prosthesis, irrigating, and in?dwelling drainage tube were conducted. By reviewing literature about periprosthetic clostridium perfringens infection, only seven reports of periprosthetic joint infection were caused by clostridium perfringens, which were all case reports. From the previous case reports and our case, we found that the infection around the prosthesis caused by clostridium perfringens was limited to the ar?ea around the joint, and prognosis of such cases may not be as severe as the natural gas gangrene which developed very rapidly, but great attention should be paid to. The hematogenous periprosthetic joint infection caused by clostridium perfringens who had gastrointestinal symptoms in the early stage should be highly suspicious of gallbladder lesions and thorough debridement, retention of the prosthesis, irrigating and indwelling drainage tube maybe a treatment method.