[Acute primary infection due to slow-growing anaerobes after total hip arthroplasty (author's transl)].

Most early post-operative infections in total hip arthroplasty are due to aerobic bacteria. Anaerobes infections are less common and less easy to diagnose since the organisms are growing slowly. In the three patients reported the responsible organisms were detected by a strict bacteriological technique including cultures lasting more than 48 hours. Treatment consisted of re-operation and appropriate antibiotic therapy. The slow development of anaerobic bacteria makes antibiotic sensitivity tests particularly difficult to read. The need for cultures prolonged beyond 48 hours partly explains the frequency of overt suppuration in cases where standard bacteriological methods had given negative results.