An unexpected case of Cardiobacterium valvarum prosthetic arthritis without cardiac lesions: Case report and literature review

• Published in: Journal of infection and chemotherapy : official journal of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy Vol. 27; no. 5; pp. 747 - 750
• Main Authors: Koizumi, Yusuke, Ohno, Tomoko, Takada, Takuya, Sakanashi, Daisuke, Nakamura, Akiko, Yamada, Atsuko, Asai, Nobuhiro, Shiota, Arufumi, Hagihara, Mao, Yamagishi, Yuka, Suematsu, Hiroyuki, Deie, Masataka, Mikamo, Hiroshige
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 01.05.2021
• Subjects: Infective endocarditis; 16S rRNA sequence analysis; Modified Levinthal medium; HACEK; Prosthetic arthritis
• ISSN: 1341-321X; 1437-7780
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jiac.2020.12.006

We report a case of prosthetic arthritis caused by Cardiobacterium valvarum, which has been exclusively reported to cause intravascular infections. A 81-year-old Japanese female complained prosthetic knee joint pain. Arthrocentesis cultured no pathogen, and surgical replacement of the implant surface was performed. Modified Levinthal medium culture and 16S rRNA sequencing has finally led to diagnosis of C. valvarum prosthetic knee arthritis without cardiac lesions. Fastidious bacteria such as C. valvarum can be candidate pathogens of orthopedic infections whose causative agents are sometimes unidentified. Further development of molecular diagnostics is expected, but also the importance of conventional methods should be noted.