1. Surgical site infection after primary total knee arthroplasty is associated with a longer duration of surgery.
- Author
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Teo BJX, Yeo W, Chong HC, and Tan AHC
- Subjects
- Aged, Arthritis, Infectious etiology, Female, Humans, Incidence, Male, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors, Singapore epidemiology, Surgical Wound Infection etiology, Time Factors, Arthritis, Infectious epidemiology, Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee adverse effects, Surgical Wound Infection epidemiology
- Abstract
Purpose: Surgical site infection (SSI) is a serious complication following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) leading to considerable morbidity. The incidence is reported to be up to 2%. Risk factors continue to be an area of intense debate. Our study aims to report the incidence of SSI and identify possible risk factors in our patients undergoing TKA., Methods: Prospectively collected data for 905 patients who underwent elective unilateral TKA by a single surgeon from February 2004 to July 2014 were reviewed. Patient demographics and relevant co-morbidities such as diabetes and heart disease were analysed. The presence of superficial wound infections and/or prosthetic joint infections was included., Results: The overall infection rate was 1.10% (10 of 905 patients). Six patients (0.66%) were diagnosed with superficial infections and four with PJI (0.44%). The mean operative duration for TKA with SSI was significantly longer at 90.5 ± 28.2 min, compared to 72.2 ± 20.3 min in TKA without SSI ( p = 0.03). All superficial infections occurred within the first month post-surgery and were self-limiting with oral antibiotics. The four patients with PJI required repeated procedures following TKA, including debridement, implant removal and/or revision arthroplasty. None of the 10 patients had a history of diabetes. There were no significant differences in demographics and co-morbidities between those who developed infection after TKA and those who did not., Conclusion: An overwhelming majority had good outcomes with only four deep infections resulting in revision surgery. We report that the risk of infection in TKA was significantly associated with a longer operative duration.
- Published
- 2018
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