Postpartum periarticular hip abscess with later coxitis caused by group B streptococcus.

Intrapartum haematogenous spread of vaginal group B Streptococcus is rare, but it can lead to severe complications like abscesses, endocarditis and meningitis postpartum. We report a postpartum periarticular hip abscess caused by group B Streptococcus. Clinically it caused pain in the hip and a compression of the femoral nerve with motor and sensory component. Diagnosis was made by aspiration under computed tomography control. The only sign of infection was an increased sedimentation rate. After antibiotic treatment the symptoms disappeared and the abscess vanished, but it was reactivated 4 months after delivery, leading to arthritis of the hip joint. Another antibiotic treatment was administered for 8 weeks. 17 months postpartum the patient is well, but a development of a secondary coxarthrosis can not be excluded.