George A Komnos,Antonios Papadopoulos,Efstratios Athanaselis,Theofilos Karachalios,Sokratis E. Varitimidis,
Migrating Periprosthetic Infection from a Total Hip Replacement to a Contralateral Non-Operated Osteoarthritic Knee Joint
International Journal of Surgical Case Reports
2022
2674-4171
http://dx.doi.org/10.31487/j.IJSCR.2022.03.02
https://www.sciencerepository.org/migrating-periprosthetic-infection_IJSCR-2022-3-102 
Abstract: Introduction: There is a paucity of published data on whether a treated infected arthroplasty is a risk factor for infection in another, non-operated joint. Contamination of a primary, arthritic, non-operated joint from an infected arthroplasty is a relatively rare entity. 
Case: We report a case of migration of a pathogen (Enterococcus faecalis) from an infected prosthetic joint (hip) to the contralateral native joint (knee). Identification of the pathogen was made with PCR, by obtaining cultures during the implantation of the primary knee prosthesis.
Conclusion: Contamination of a primary, arthritic, non-operated joint from an infected arthroplasty has not been widely reported. Management of such cases is extremely challenging and without clear and established guidelines. Our experience shows that tissue samples should be taken intraoperatively and sent for cultures, so as to exclude contamination in those cases.Keywords: PJI, Enterococcus faecalis, case report, migrating infection