Juniper Publishers Journal of Orthopedics and Rheumatology

Orthopedics and Rheumatology - Juniper Publishers Abstract Mycobacterium kansasii , like other non tuberculosis mycobacterial (NTM), is rare opportunistic infection that can lead to septic arthritis in immune suppressed patients. We report the case of a 56‐year‐old His panic female with systemic lupusery the matosus (SLE) and scleroderma on long‐term immune suppression, who developed an M.kansasii septic arthritis of the left knee in the setting of chronic lupus arthritis. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) was delayed as the infection progressed into osteomyelitis of the distal left femur with an associated chronic, draining wound in the popliteal fosse. There are no reports in the literature documenting the treatment of this manifestation of M.kansasii in a patient with SLE, prior to TKA. Diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion, and was accomplished with synovial fluid culture and tissue biopsy. Treatment was accomplished with staged debridement and anti‐mycobacte