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Case Report: Rhodococcus erythropolis Osteomyelitis in the Toe

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Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®

Abstract

The Rhodococcus species rarely cause musculoskeletal infections, with only two cases reported in the literature. We report the case of a 53-year-old woman who had an infection develop after first metatarsophalangeal joint fusion. A year after surgery, she continued to have pain and swelling with nonunion. She underwent revision of the arthrodesis and tissue samples from surgery revealed Rhodococcus erythropolis. The patient’s symptoms improved with oral antibiotics. One year after the revision surgery, the fusion had united. We believe this is the first report of a case of a musculoskeletal infection caused by Rhodococcus erythropolis.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Microbiology Department at the Harrogate District Hospital.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Trauma & Orthopaedics, Harrogate District Hospital, Lancaster Park Road, Harrogate, HG2 7SX, UK

    M. Roy MRCS, S. Sidhom FRCS (T&O) & J. L. Conroy FRCS (T&O)

  2. Department of Microbiology, Harrogate District Hospital, Harrogate, UK

    K. G. Kerr MD, FRCPath

Authors
  1. M. Roy MRCS
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  2. S. Sidhom FRCS (T&O)
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  3. K. G. Kerr MD, FRCPath
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  4. J. L. Conroy FRCS (T&O)
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Correspondence to M. Roy MRCS.

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Each author certifies that he or she has no commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

Each author certifies that his or her institution either has waived or does not require approval for the reporting of this case and that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research.

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Roy, M., Sidhom, S., Kerr, K.G. et al. Case Report: Rhodococcus erythropolis Osteomyelitis in the Toe. Clin Orthop Relat Res 467, 3029–3031 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-009-0901-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-009-0901-z

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