Annals of Clinical Microbiology  2016;19(2):54-57

doi:10.5145/ACM.2016.19.2.54

Late Prosthetic Joint Infection and Bacteremia by Bacillus cereus Confirmed by 16S rRNA Sequencing and Hip Joint Tissue Pathology.

Jihye HA 1 ; Yu Jin PARK ; Yee Jeong KIM ; Hyun Cheol OH ; Young Ah KIM

Affiliations

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Keywords

Arthritis; Bacillus cereus; Bacteremia; Prosthesis; 16S rRNA

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

Bacillus cereus is a widespread organism in nature and a member of the B. cereus group of catalasepositive, aerobic, spore-forming, Gram-positive bacilli. B. cereus found in blood is often dismissed as a contaminant in the absence of repeated isolation from multiple cultures. Soft tissue and bone infection due to B. cereus have been associated with trauma, intravenous drug use, and an immunocompromised state. We report a very late prosthetic joint infection of the hip joint and consequent bacteremia caused by B. cereus, which occurred 13 years after total hip replacement surgery in the absence of recent trauma or intervention.