A case of candida parapsilosis periprosthetic joint infection: Case report and literature review

Abstract

A 76 year old female, with a background history of eczema and iatrogenic Cushing syndrome, received a right total knee replacement for her knee osteoarthritis. In the early post-operative period, a small amount of discharge was noted from the surgical wound. The wound swab culture of the discharge yielded candida species. It was regarded as contamination initially. Half year later, she presented with a subcutaneous abscess around the right knee. Aspiration and culture confirmed infection of Candida parapsilosis. The patient was treated conservatively with fluconazole because she had initially refused operative treatment. The infection progressed to abscess formation afterward. A two-stage revision arthroplasty with cement spacer was performed subsequently. In addition, we have reviewed the literature regarding fungal periprosthetic joint infection.