Infection of the hip joint by Serratia marcescens

A 72-year-old male patient presented to the hospital because of sudden inability to bear weight and without a history of trauma. A fracture of the head of the femur was identified on CT scan of the pelvis. In his history, the patient had a hospital admission 3 months earlier, during which he had a urinary catheter, and a urine specimen was analysed. The same pathogen was found in the patient urine and in the head of the femur specimen. This is a report of blood-borne spread of Serratia marcescens infection from the urothelium to the hip joint, responsible for spontaneous fracture of the femoral head without history of trauma.