Infected Nonunion of the Tibia Due to Paenibacillus turicensis in a Healthy Young Adult after an All-Terrain Vehicle Accident

Abstract

We present the case of a 19-year-old man with an open fracture of the tibia and fibula secondary to an accident with an all-terrain vehicle. He underwent operative excisional irrigation, debridement, and fixation on the day of injury. His course was complicated by nonunion of the tibia fracture. Infection is a common factor in fracture nonunion, even in patients who receive appropriate surgical and antimicrobial management. Paenibacillus turicensis, an organism adapted to survive in the environment via spore formation, was responsible for nonunion in our patient. A brief discussion of this unusual organism, fracture nonunion, and the role of infection in etiology of nonunion follows.