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Background: Excellent revisions about antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC) have been recently published. In the present article, we review the principles and limitations of local antibiotic delivery in the context of recent advances in the pathogenesis of prosthetic joint infections (PJI), with particular attention paid to the potential association between ALBC and antimicrobial resistance., Main Body: Recalcitrance of PJI is related to the ability of pathogens to adapt to particular environments present in bone tissue and protect themselves from host immunity in different ways. Accordingly, delivery of high local antimicrobial concentrations using ALBC is needed. Most relevant clinical data showing the efficacy of ALBC for PJI prophylaxis and treatment are reviewed, and we dissected the limitations on the basis of the recent findings from animal models and suggested that aminoglycosides, in particular, could not be the best option. One of the major concerns associated with ALBC is the emergence of resistance because of theoretical prolonged exposure to low antibiotic concentrations. We summarize the mechanisms for the selection of resistant microorganisms, and we critically reviewed the evidence from animal models and clinical data from observational and registry studies and concluded that there is no evidence to support this association., Conclusion: While waiting for better evidence from well-designed clinical trials, ALBC shows a beneficial effect as a prophylaxis in arthroplasty, and to avoid the colonization of spacers used for two-stage revision in patients with PJI. Experimental models and clinical evidence suggest the need to achieve high local antimicrobial concentrations to obtain the highest prophylactic and therapeutic effect. The current evidence does not support the risk of increasing resistance with use of ALBC. In the future, it is necessary to evaluate new carriers and different antimicrobials to improve clinical outcomes., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: A significant amount of patients undergoing revision surgery of a prosthetic joint turn out to have an infection. Withholding preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis in these patients to optimize culture yield during revision surgery remains a matter of debate. The aim of our study was to determine (1) the rate of positive intraoperative cultures with or without preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis and (2) the incidence of a prosthetic joint infection (PJI) during the follow-up in the 2 groups., Methods: Medical files of patients in whom preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis was withheld until culture samples were taken (2007-2010, n = 284) and in whom antibiotic prophylaxis was given during the induction of anesthesia (2010-2013, n = 141) were retrospectively reviewed., Results: The percentage of ≥1 positive cultures was the same in the group without (26%) and with preoperative prophylaxis (27%; P value, .7). PJI was diagnosed during revision surgery according to the Musculoskeletal Infection Society criteria in 6.7% patients not receiving preoperative prophylaxis and in 7.0% receiving it (P value, .79). We found no important differences in the type of microorganisms that were isolated in both groups. During a 3-month follow-up, an early PJI developed in patients undergoing total revision surgery in 6.4% of the nonpreoperative prophylaxis group vs 1.6% in the preoperative prophylaxis group (P value, .1)., Conclusion: Preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis does not reduce culture yield in patients undergoing knee revision surgery. Our data show a trend toward a higher PJI rate in the postoperative period of total revision surgery when preoperative prophylaxis is withheld., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Measuring HRQOL is simple, inexpensive, permits the health status to be measured over time, and is useful to compare or initiate treatments and evaluate results, facilitating homogenization in patient inclusion., Objectives: To evaluate disease-specific and generic HRQOL and influence of associated factors in patients undergoing open debridement for acute postsurgical knee prosthetic joint infection after TKR at 12 and 48 months after completing antibiotic treatment and considered cured of infection., Methods: Health-related quality-of-life measures were administered at baseline (WOMAC) and 12 and 48 months (WOMAC and SF-36) in patients with prosthesis retention, no symptoms of infection, and CRP (≤ 1 mg/dL)., Results: Thirty patients were included, and 24 were evaluated at 48 months. WOMAC scores improved significantly (P < 0.01) at 12 and 48 months. The effect size was 0.72 for stiffness, 2.01 for pain, and 2.15 for function. At 48 months, improvements were greater (P < 0.02) except for stiffness. The most frequently isolated microorganisms were Staphylococcus aureus (14 patients) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (9 patients). SF-36 physical role, bodily pain, emotional role, and mental health dimension scores at 12 and 48 months were significantly worse in patients with isolates of Staphylococcus aureus (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Health-related quality-of-life measures detected significant differences in outcomes in patients infected by S. aureus compared with patients infected by other microorganisms. HRQOL measures may provide useful complementary information on outcomes after acute postoperative infection., (© 2014 World Institute of Pain.)

Purpose: The incidence of revision knee arthroplasty for infection is increasing and the required surgical approach for the revision is a challenge for surgeons. Extensile approaches are frequently used when it is impossible to evert the extensor mechanism. The aim of this paper is to report our experience with tibial tubercle osteotomy (TTO) and the functional results in patients who underwent a two-stage revision due to prosthesis infection., Methods: Twenty-six patients underwent a TTO as a surgical approach in the second stage of revision for infection. The patients were clinically assessed by means of functional scales (the Knee Society Score and WOMAC) and X-rays., Results: The TTO healed without complications in 22 patients (84.6%) and the average length of follow-up was 3.4 years. Non-union was observed in two patients. One patient presented an extension lag of 5°. A total of 23 patients (88.4%) were free from infection. Twenty-five patients (96.1%) had better scores on the Knee Society Score and WOMAC after the procedure., Conclusions: In patients undergoing the second stage of revision total knee arthroplasty for infection, the TTO approach provides a large operating field. This enables surgeons to withdraw spacers and position new implants without damaging the extensor mechanism of the knee or altering the postoperative rehabilitation process. The complications that have been reported as a result of this procedure could be reduced by performing a meticulous surgical technique., Level of Evidence: Retrospective case series, Level IV.

Purposes: To evaluate the long-term outcome (at least 4 years) of patients who underwent a surgical debridement due to an acute prosthetic joint infection (PJI) and to compare them with a control group that did not have an acute septic complication., Methods: From January 1999 to December 2007, 61 patients with an acute PJI in remission after 2 years of follow-up (cases) were retrospectively reviewed and compared with a control group (2:1) without an acute PJI matched by age, year of arthroplasty, and type of prosthesis. Septic and aseptic complications of each group were gathered and compared using a chi-square test. A two-tailed p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: Out of 183 patients, 4 cases and 2 controls were excluded due to death or lost to follow up; 113 (63.8%) were females and 109 (61.5%) had a knee replacement. The mean age and time of followup were 68.3 and 6.4 years, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between cases and controls in the percentage of late septic or aseptic loosening. However, the late relapse rate in patients with acute PJI caused by S. aureus, was 12.5% (2 out of 16) and there was a trend towards significance when compared with the rest of the cohort (3.3%, p = 0.09). Aseptic late complications were more frequent in GN-cases (10.7%) than in the other groups (3.4% in GP-cases and 5% in controls) but this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.19)., Conclusions: In conclusion, although analyzing all late complications together, patients with an acute PJI have a similar long-term outcome in comparison with controls; patients with an acute PJI due to S. aureus had a higher late relapse rate; and GN-cases developed an aseptic loosening more ?frequently. In the future, it is necessary to evaluate larger series to confirm our results.

Background: There is no clinical trial analyzing the best moment to infuse an antibiotic during knee arthroplasty performed during ischemia. We designed a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate whether antibiotic therapy should be administered before tourniquet inflation or just before tourniquet deflation., Material and Methods: Patients who underwent a primary knee arthroplasty were randomized to receive (1) 1.5 g of cefuroxime 10-30 min before inflation of the tourniquet and placebo 10 min before release of the tourniquet (standard arm) or (2) placebo 10-30 min before inflation of the tourniquet and 1.5 g of cefuroxime 10 min before release of the tourniquet (experimental arm). In both arms, a postoperative dose of 1.5 g of cefuroxime was given 6 h after the surgical procedure. The main variables associated with the rate of deep-tissue infection after 3 and 12 months of follow-up were gathered. Continuous variables were compared using Student's t test, and categorical variables were compared using the chi(2) test or Fisher's exact test., Results: From September 2004 through December 2005, a total of 908 patients were randomized, 442 and 466 of whom were allocated to the standard and experimental arms, respectively. There were no differences between treatment arms in terms of age, sex, comorbidity, American Society of Anaesthesiologists score, duration of surgery, need of blood transfusion, or fourth-day hematocrit. The rates of deep-tissue infection among the standard and experimental groups were 3.4% and 1.9%, respectively, at 3 months of follow-up (P = .21) and 3.6% and 2.6%, respectively, at 12 months of follow-up (P = .44)., Conclusion: The administration of prophylactic antibiotics just before tourniquet release was not inferior to standard antibiotic prophylaxis.