Vol.20 No.6

Case Report

Acupuncture needle-associated prosthetic knee infection after total knee arthroplasty

Authors

Arata Nakajima1,2 , Ryutaku Kaneyama3 , Hitoshi Watanabe2 , Masazumi Murakami2 , Koichi Nakagawa1 , Yasuchika Aoki1 , Masashi Yamazaki4 , Teruo Furufu1 , Toru Suguro5

  • Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Toho University Sakura Medical Center, 564-1 Shimoshizu, Sakura Chiba, 285-8741, Japan
  • Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chiba Aoba Municipal Hospital, Chiba, Japan
  • Funabashi Orthopaedic Hospital, Funabashi, Chiba, Japan
  • Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
  • Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Toho University Omori Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan
Received:

11 May 2010

Accepted:

14 June 2010

Published online:

9 July 2010

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Abstract

The case of a patient who previously had permanent acupuncture needles placed in the knee joint and had been doing well, with no evidence of infection, but who eventually underwent a revision total knee arthroplasty due to acupuncture needle-associated prosthetic infection is presented. The microorganism responsible for the infection was Enterococcus faecalis, a bacterium which rarely causes infection following arthroplasty. This case should be highlighted to increase the awareness of healthcare providers to acupuncture-associated subclinical infection that may be exacerbated by surgical manipulation.

Key words

Acupuncture - Prosthesis - TKA - Subclinical infection