Early Onset Prosthetic Joint Infection and Bacteremia due to Campylobacter fetus Subspecies fetus

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Microbiology
• Clinical Case Study

Background:

• Campylobacter fetus is a zoonotic bacterium known to cause invasive infections.
• Infections are more severe in immunocompromised individuals and can be relapsing.
• Prosthetic joint infections are a serious complication.

Observation:

• A 75-year-old immunocompromised woman presented with a relapsing diarrheal illness.
• The illness progressed to secondary bacteremia with Campylobacter fetus.
• The infection seeded the patient's left knee prosthetic joint, indicating a deep-seated infection.

Findings:

• The patient received a six-week course of meropenem for the bacteremia and prosthetic joint infection.
• Surgical debridement and retention of the prosthesis were performed.
• Chronic suppressivetherapy with oral doxycycline was initiated post-meropenem treatment.

Implications:

• This case demonstrates a successful multimodal treatment approach for a complex Campylobacter fetus prosthetic joint infection.
• Aggressive surgical management combined with appropriate antibiotic therapy can lead to favorable outcomes in invasive C. fetus infections.
• The findings underscore the importance of considering C. fetus in the differential diagnosis of relapsing gastrointestinal and invasive infections, especially in at-risk populations.