Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) after total knee arthroplasty remains a challenging complication. The treatment options for PJI include different procedures; however, regardless of the strategy, antibiotics are required. The combination of different antibiotics increased the rates of PJI eradication. For almost 3 decades, rifampicin has been used as part of antibiotic therapy for PJI. Drug fever, a febrile response that coincides with the onset of drug administration and disappears after drug discontinuation in the absence of other underlying conditions that could cause fever, is frequently misdiagnosed. We present the case of a 72-year-old man with PJI 6 months after total knee arthroplasty. Two-stage revision surgery was followed by culture-directed antibiotic treatment (ciprofloxacin and rifampicin) against Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the periprosthetic tissue. On the fifth day of antibiotic treatment, the patient became febrile and, in the next 5 days, he had an intermittent fever of up to 40°C, although he showed clinical improvement. The patient was normotensive without a maculopapular rash, urticaria or clotting abnormalities. A drug fever was suspected, and rifampicin was discontinued. A re-challenge test was performed, and the fever recurred. Antibiotic treatment with ciprofloxacin was continued and, after 12 months of follow-up, the patient was doing well. Clinicians should be aware that fever could be a clinical presentation of drug fever. If it occurs during an infection, drug fever could necessitate additional diagnostic procedures for further evaluation, inadequate antibiotic therapy and prolonged hospitalisation.
Keywords: drug fever; periprosthetic joint infection; rifampicin; staphylococcal biofilm; total knee arthroplasty.
© 2022 British Pharmacological Society.