Multifocal Infection After Hip Fracture Fixation: A Case Report

Abstract

We present the case of a seventy five year old female diabetic patient, who sustained an inter-trochanteric fracture of her left hip and was treated by dynamic hip screw fixation on the same day. The patient developed multifocal infection with three different and unusual types of bacteria isolated in blood and wound cultures. In spite of aggressive and repeated wound debridement, infection and blood sugar levels were impossible to control until metal removal, which led to fracture malunion. The patient denied further hip reconstruction surgery and ended up mobilizing with a walker and a limp.

Multifocal infection is possible even after a routine Orthopaedic procedure on a patient with precipitating factors no more than diabetes mellitus. It is important to be aware of the possibility of simultaneous wound infection and septicemia by different agents.