Outcomes of Enterobacter cloacae-Associated Periprosthetic Joint Infection Following Hip Arthroplasties

Periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) represent a serious complication following total hip arthroplasty (THA) and are associated with significant morbidity. While recent data suggest that Enterobacter cloacae is an emerging source of PJI, characteristics and outcomes of E. cloacae-associated infections are rarely described. The study aimed to present and describe the findings and outcomes of E. cloacae-associated PJI in our department.

This is a retrospective descriptive study of patients who underwent revision THA for E. cloacae-associated PJI between 2011 and 2020 and has a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Outcomes included organism characteristics as well as clinical outcomes, represented by the number of reoperations needed for PJI eradication and the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) outcome reporting tool score. Of 108 revision THAs, 12 patients (11.1%) were diagnosed with E. cloacae-associated PJI.

The majority of cases had a polymicrobial PJI (n=8, 66.7%). Five E. cloacae strains (41.7%) were gentamicin-resistant. Six patients (50.0%) underwent 2 or more revisions, while 3 of them (25.0%) required 4 or more revisions until their PJI was resolved. When utilizing the MSIS outcome score, the first surgical intervention was considered successful (MSIS score tiers 1 and 2) for 5 patients (41.7%) and failed (tiers 3 and 4) for 7 patients (58.3%).

E. cloacae is emerging as a common source of PJI following hip arthroplasty procedures. The findings of our study suggest that this pathogen is primarily of polymicrobial nature and represents high virulence and poor postoperative outcomes, as represented by both an increased number of required revision procedures and high rates of patients with MSIS outcome scores of 3 and 4. When managing patients with E. cloacae-associated PJI, surgeons should consider these characteristics and inform patients regarding predicted outcomes.