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Case Reports
. 2023 Oct 6;16(10):e256864.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2023-256864.

Rhodococcus erythropolis septic arthritis

Leah M Grant  1 , Maria T Seville  1 , Erin H Graf  2 , Holenarasipur R Vikram  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Rhodococcus erythropolis septic arthritis

Leah M Grant et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

A woman in her 50s presented with a 4-day history of left knee pain, erythema, swelling as well as malaise and rigours 1 month after undergoing a left knee meniscectomy. She was diagnosed with left native knee septic arthritis and underwent arthroscopic irrigation and debridement of the knee; cultures from synovial tissue grew Rhodococcus erythropolis. Rhodococcus spp are soil-dwelling and livestock-dwelling bacteria which occasionally cause disease in immunocompromised hosts. Infection in immunocompetent hosts is rare, and septic arthritis secondary to Rhodococcus erythropolis has not been reported previously.

Keywords: Bone and joint infections; Orthopaedics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Left knee synovial fluid culture on chocolate and sheep blood agar, with dry, white-coloured colonies of Rhodococcus erythropolis after 24 hours of incubation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mucoid white colonies of Rhodococcus erythropolis after 48 hours of incubation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Publication types

Supplementary concepts