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Updated: Dec 15, 2025
Novel Diagnostics in Revision Arthroplasty: Implant Sonication and Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction
Published on: December 3, 2017
Mycobacterium fortuitum Prosthetic Joint Infection After Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Case Report
William C Fix1, Neil P Sheth1,2, Michael N Braffman1,3
1Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Case:
A 57-year-old man presented with a Mycobacterium fortuitum prosthetic joint infection (PJI) after right total hip arthroplasty refractory to the initial revision surgery and cement spacer placement. The patient was subsequently treated with 2-stage total joint arthroplasty revision surgery using an antibiotic-laden spacer customized to include meropenem and delayed reimplantation to allow for prolonged, systemic antimicrobial treatment with multiple antimicrobials, including levofloxacin and linezolid.
Conclusions:
There is little evidence to guide practitioners in the diagnosis and treatment of PJI caused by rare, rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) such as M. fortuitum. This case demonstrates a successful strategy for the treatment of RGM PJI.
