Enterobacter cloacae Periprosthetic Joint Infection after Bariatric Surgical Anastomotic Leak

Abstract

Four weeks after a bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA), an immunocompetent, 61-year-old, Caucasian man presented with a periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) of the left knee by Enterobacter cloacae (an enteric bacteria). The most likely source of his infection was due to an anastomotic leak after a bariatric surgery done 6 months before TKA. There is a growing focus on stratifying the risk of PJI after TKA. Hematogenous seeding of enteric bacteria leading to PJI is an unexplored risk that will become more prevalent as bariatric procedures before TKA continue to increase in frequency. We present a patient who demonstrates this PJI risk with a rare microbe (E cloacae).