Staphylococcus caprae infection after total hip replacement. A case and review.

We report a case of Staphylococcus caprae bone and joint infection, that il lustrate difficulties to diagnose coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) or thopedic surgery infections, specially following implantation of prostheses . Four of 5 strains successivelly isolated from deep and/or peri-operative specimens during late infection after total hip replacement (THR) have been identified using commercial systems and conventionnal tests, as S. caprae. Identity of biochemical profile, antibiotype and pulsotype of the 4 isolat es confirmed the pathogenicity of this animal CNS, rarely described as a hu man pathogen. Analysis of the 24 S. caprae human cases previously described evidence a relation ship between this bacteria and bone and joint infectio ns, with implantation of prosthetic material as supplementary risk factor. S. caprae, whose major identification criteria are resumed may have previou sly been misidentified as some similar CNS; this bacteria is probably part of our normal flora but may be recognized as an opportunistic pathogen, res ponsible for both nosocomial and community acquired infections.