Fusobacterium nucleatum prosthetic hip infection: Case report and review of the literature of unusual anaerobic prosthetic joint infection

Abstract

The anaerobic Gram-negative rod Fusobacterium nucleatum is an oral commensal and periodontal pathogen that has been associated with a wide variety of infections, yet it is extremely rare to be associated with prosthetic joint infection. After an exhaustive literature review, only two cases of prosthetic joint infection by F. nucleatum have been previously reported. To our knowledge, the case we report on here is the first combined with periprosthetic abscess and related with hemochromatosis. We therefore sought to provide a comprehensive literature review of case reports or series of less commonly encountered anaerobic microorganisms isolated from prosthetic joint infections.

Keywords: Fusobacterium nucleatum; anaerobic microorganisms; hemochromatosis; periprosthetic abscess; prosthetic hip infection.