A rare case of Prosthetic Joint Infection associated with Coxiella burnetii

Abstract

We report here the case of a Prosthetic Joint Infection (PJI) associated with Coxiella burnetii in a 62-year-old man with a revised total hip arthroplasty. The diagnosis was performed first by 16S rDNA sequencing on hip fluid aspirate, and confirmed by specific qPCR. Q fever has been reported in few cases of Prosthetic Joint Infections, often associated with chronic evolution and iterative surgeries. This case report alerts about such an unexpected diagnosis in a patient with no known risk factors.

Keywords: 16s rDNA sequencing; Coxiella burnetii; PCR; Persistent infection; Prosthetic Joint Infection.