Clinical pointers in Prevotella septic arthritis of the hip:  a case report

BACKGROUND: Infective arthritis is an orthopaedic surgical emergency. Staphylococcus aureus remains the commonest causative bacteria across all age groups. Prevotella spp. as a cause of infective arthritis is extremely rare. CASE REPORT: We present our case of a 30-year-old African male patient who presented with mild signs of infective arthritis of the left hip. His risk factors were his background retroviral disease, intravenous drug abuse, and a previous episode of left hip arthrotomy which healed expectantly with intervention. The current presentation was treated with arthrotomy of the hip, fluid lavage, and skeletal traction based on our clinical findings and the rarity of the presentation was seen to be mobilising non-weight bearing with crutches, and pain-free on the left hip. CONCLUSION: A high index of suspicion for Prevotella Septic Arthritis (PSA) should be exercised when treating infective arthritis patients with background joint arthropathies, and intravenous drug abuse, especially in individuals with significant immunosuppression and/or recent tooth extraction. Fortunately, although rare an entity, good outcomes can be expected with early diagnosis and classic treatment principles of joint decompression and lavage as well as guided antibiotic therapy.