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Case Report

Case Report: Rhodococcus erythropolis Osteomyelitis in the Toe

M. Roy¹, S. Sidhom¹, K. G. Kerr² and J. L. Conroy¹

(1)	Department of Trauma & Orthopaedics, Harrogate District Hospital, Lancaster Park Road, Harrogate, HG2 7SX, UK

(2)	Department of Microbiology, Harrogate District Hospital, Harrogate, UK

Received: 23 December 2008 Accepted: 7 May 2009 Published online: 21 May 2009

Abstract The Rhodococcus species rarely cause musculoskeletal infections, with only two cases reported in the literature. We report the case of a 53-year-old woman who had an infection develop after first metatarsophalangeal joint fusion. A year after surgery, she continued to have pain and swelling with nonunion. She underwent revision of the arthrodesis and tissue samples from surgery revealed Rhodococcus erythropolis. The patient’s symptoms improved with oral antibiotics. One year after the revision surgery, the fusion had united. We believe this is the first report of a case of a musculoskeletal infection caused by Rhodococcus erythropolis.

Each author certifies that he or she has no commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

Each author certifies that his or her institution either has waived or does not require approval for the reporting of this case and that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research.

M. Roy
Email: mayankroy@hotmail.com

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