Septic Osteoarthritis Due to Streptococcus dysgalactiae Subspecies equisimilis in a Three-Year-Old Girl

Abstract

The current paper presents a three-year-old toddler with an acute and severe osteoarticular infection of her left hip and proximal thigh. In the first 24 hours she underwent an arthrotomy and during the intravenous phase of antibiotic treatment multiple teeth were removed because of an extensive periodontal disease. Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (SDSE) was identified in her blood culture samples. The paper discusses the clinical spectrum of the disease caused by this pathogen and briefly reviews the literature. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first case of septic osteomyelitis and arthritis caused by SDSE in a child.