Total Knee Bartonella henselae Infection: An Unusual Manifestation of Cat Scratch Disease

Abstract

Case: This is the first clinical report of periprosthetic total joint infection caused by Bartonella henselae. A 65-year-old woman developed an acutely painful total knee 3 weeks after a cat scratch. Serial joint aspirations and tissue cultures failed to identify any organism. Diagnosis was performed with polymerase chain reaction analysis. She underwent a 2-stage revision with successful symptom resolution. Conclusions: Bartonella is an unusual cause of total knee infection requiring alternative techniques for diagnosis because cultures are unlikely to be definitive.

Antibacterial Designs for Implantable Medical Devices: Evolutions and Challenges

“…Device-associated infections become even stickier because of those host-specific, transient, or resident factors ( Table 3 ) [ 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 ]. The onset of DAI is not predictable, it can onset years after implantation (Cases 1 through 6 in Table 3 ).…”

“…Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens , a common settler in the gastrointestinal tract of cats and dogs, can induce a prosthetic hip joint infection in an immunocompromised patient [ 76 ]. DAIs are normally initiated by bacterial seeding and as a result tissue integration will be impaired quickly; however, some cases failed to identify any organism by cultures [ 77 , 78 ] and tissue integration was intact after being infected [ 79 ]. These situations add difficulties to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of DAIs.…”