The Use and Adverse Effects of Oral and Intravenous Antibiotic Administration for Suspected Infection After Revision Shoulder Arthroplasty

Evaluating the Impact of Interventions and Improvements in Outpatient Intravenous Infusion Therapy at a Hospital in China: A Comprehensive Analysis of Prescription Patterns and Safety Measures

Background

The excessive use of intravenous infusion in China was once a serious problem, but in recent years, attention has been paid to the phenomenon, and the government has implemented several policies to solve the problem, which has been gradually improved.

Aim

This study focuses on evaluating the impact of ongoing interventions and improvements in outpatient intravenous infusion therapy.

Methods

From January 2016 to December 2022, we conducted a study to gather annual data on intravenous infusion prescriptions. A data questionnaire, encompassing information on departments, clinical diagnosis, and infusion drugs, was developed for this purpose. We analyzed the changing trends of Top 10 clinical departments with higher intravenous infusion usage rates and Top 10 drugs used. We also evaluated the compliance of intravenous infusion prescriptions with management regulations and drug instructions, for further intervention in the future.

Results

The analysis of intravenous infusion prescription rates revealed a gradual decrease from 10.89% to 5.63%. This reduction was statistically significant (P < 0.05). High levels of intravenous infusion use were consistently observed in emergency surgery and emergency medicine. Commonly administered drugs via infusion included antibacterial drugs, tumor medications, proton pump inhibitors, and injections of traditional Chinese medicine. Inappropriate prescriptions are often characterized by issues related to drug dosage, usage, indication, and selection. Trend analysis of unreasonable types revealed significant improvements in "Diagnosis incomplete/unwritten", "Solvent selection", "Dosing frequency", and "Treatment without indication" (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The findings of this study indicate a gradual improvement in the situation regarding intravenous infusion. However, there are still prevalent instances of unreasonable practices that need to be addressed.

Revision of total shoulder arthroplasty to hemiarthroplasty: results at mean 5-year follow-up

BACKGROUND

Although there is a trend to manage failed anatomic total shoulder arthroplasties (aTSA) with revision to a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty, such revisions can be complicated by difficulties in baseplate fixation, instability, and acromial stress fractures. Some cases of failed aTSA may be safely revised to a hemiarthroplasty (HA). The objectives of this study were to report patient-reported outcomes after conversion from aTSA to HA and assess patient and shoulder characteristics associated with a successful outcome.

METHODS

Patients who underwent revision from aTSA to HA between 2009 and 2018 were contacted. Patient demographics, surgical history, intraoperative findings, and microbiology results were collected. Patient-reported outcomes were collected with minimum 2-year follow-up. Preoperative radiographic characteristics were reviewed for component positioning and component loosening. Patients with a clinically significant improvement exceeding the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) of the Simple Shoulder Test (SST) were compared with those patients who did not improve past the MCID.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine patients underwent conversion from aTSA to HA with a mean follow-up of 4.5 ± 1.8 years. Intraoperative glenoid or humeral component loosening was found in all 29 patients. Pain improved in 25 of 30 patients (87%), and mean pain scores improved from 6.2 ± 2.3 to 3.1 ± 2.4 (P < .001). SST scores improved from 4.1 ± 3.1 to 7.3 ± 3.2 (P < .001), and 18 of 29 patients (62%) had improvement above the SST MCID threshold of 2.4. The mean American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score at the latest follow-up was 64 ± 19, and the Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation score was 65 ± 23. Twenty-two of 29 (76%) patients were satisfied with the procedure. Four patients (14%) required conversion to total shoulder arthroplasty-2 to anatomic and 2 to reverse. An additional 3 patients (10%) had a revision HA performed. No significant differences in patient or shoulder characteristics were found in those patients who improved greater than the MCID of the SST compared patients who improved less than the MCID of the SST. Fifty-nine percent of patients had ≥2 positive cultures with the same bacteria, and 82% of these were with Cutibacterium. Seven of 8 patients (88%) with a loose humeral component had ≥2 positive cultures with the same bacteria.

DISCUSSION

Component loosening is a common failure mode after aTSA. Revision to HA can improve pain and patient-reported outcomes in most patients.

Predictors of success following single-stage revision shoulder arthroplasty: results at a mean of five year follow-up in one hundred and twelve patients

PURPOSE

The objective was to determine factors associated with a successful outcome at a minimum of two years after revision of a failed shoulder arthroplasty.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study of revision shoulder arthroplasties performed over a ten year period and collected patient-reported outcome data and re-revision data. A successful outcome was defined by improvement greater than the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the Simple Shoulder Test (SST).

RESULTS

One hundred twelve patients with average follow-up of five years were included. Improvement of VAS pain scores (6.6 ± 2.3 to 2.9 ± 2.6) and SST scores (2.7 ± 2.6 to 6.6 ± 3.3) were significant (p < 0.001). Males were more likely to have a successful outcome than females (p = 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Two-thirds of patients experienced clinically significant improvement at a minimum of two years after revision shoulder arthroplasty. Male sex was the strongest independent predictor of a successful outcome.

What do positive and negative Cutibacterium culture results in periprosthetic shoulder infection mean? A multi-institutional control study

BACKGROUND

Deep tissue culture specimens obtained at the time of revision shoulder arthroplasty are commonly positive for Cutibacterium. Clinical interpretation of positive cultures can be difficult. This was a multi-institutional study evaluating the accuracy of cultures for Cutibacterium using positive control (PC) and negative control (NC) samples. The relationship between time to culture positivity and strength of culture positivity was also studied.

METHODS

Eleven different institutions were each sent 12 blinded samples (10 PC and 2 NC samples). The 10 PC samples included 2 sets of 5 different dilutions of a Cutibacterium isolate from a failed total shoulder arthroplasty with a probable periprosthetic infection. At each institution, the samples were handled as if they were received from the operating room. Specimen growth, time to culture positivity, and strength of culture positivity (based on semiquantitative assessment) were reported.

RESULTS

A total of 110 PC samples and 22 NC samples were tested. One hundred percent of specimens at the 4 highest dilutions were positive for Cutibacterium. At the lowest dilution, 91% of samples showed positive findings. Cutibacterium grew in 14% of NC samples. Cutibacterium grew in PC samples at an average of 4.0 ± 1.3 days, and all of these samples showed growth within 7 days. The time to positivity was significantly shorter (P < .001) and the strength of positivity was significantly higher (P < .001) in true-positive cultures compared with false-positive cultures.

CONCLUSIONS

This multi-institutional study suggests that different institutions may report highly consistent rates of culture positivity for revision shoulder arthroplasty samples with higher bacterial loads. In contrast, with lower bacterial loads, the results are somewhat less consistent. Clinicians should consider using a shorter time to positivity and a higher strength of positivity as adjuncts in determining whether a tissue culture sample is a true positive.

Oral and IV Antibiotic Administration After Single-Stage Revision Shoulder Arthroplasty: Study of Survivorship and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Patients without Clear Preoperative or Intraoperative Infection

BACKGROUND

Following revision shoulder arthroplasty, postoperative antibiotics are selected before the results of intraoperative cultures become available. We determined infection-free survival, revision-free survival, complications, and patient-reported outcomes for patients selected to receive oral or intravenous (IV) antibiotics after revision arthroplasty.

METHODS

This study included 92 patients who had revision shoulder arthroplasty. IV antibiotics were administered if the surgeon had a high index of suspicion for infection, and oral antibiotics were given if there was a low suspicion. Antibiotic therapy was modified based on intraoperative culture results. Patient-reported outcomes and adverse events were documented at a mean of 4.1 years.

RESULTS

In selecting antibiotic therapy, surgeons correctly predicted the presence or absence of multiple positive cultures of specimens from the revision surgery in 72% of the 92 cases. Subsequent re-revision surgery was required in 17 (18%) of the patients; 8 of these 17 patients had ≥2 positive cultures at re-revision. Patients who initially received IV antibiotics and those who initially received oral antibiotics had similar revision-free (p = 0.202) and infection-free (p = 0.155) survivorship. Patients requiring a change from oral to IV antibiotics based on positive cultures had similar survivorship compared with those initially treated with IV antibiotics. The IV and oral antibiotic groups had similar postoperative Simple Shoulder Test (SST), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), and satisfaction scores. Patients receiving IV antibiotics had a higher rate of antibiotic-related adverse events.

CONCLUSIONS

Post-revision antibiotic therapy was associated with an infection-free survival rate of 91% at a mean of >4 years of follow-up. Infection-free survival, revision-free survival, and patient-reported outcomes were similar in high-risk patients placed on IV antibiotics and low-risk patients placed on oral antibiotics. Further study is needed to define the indications for IV or oral antibiotics after revision arthroplasty.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Factors associated with failure of surgical revision and IV antibiotics to resolve Cutibacterium periprosthetic infection of the shoulder

PURPOSE

Cutibacterium is the most common organism causing shoulder periprosthetic infection (PJI). While most shoulder PJIs are well treated by prosthesis exchange and antibiotics, in some cases this treatment fails to resolve the infection. The factors associated with these failures have not been previously identified. The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics of patients with failure of treatment for PJI.

METHODS

Thirty-five patients suspected of having Cutibacterium PJI had revision arthroplasty with single-stage implant exchange followed by intravenous antibiotics. The characteristics of those with ≥ two positive cultures at revision surgery were compared to those who did not. The characteristics of those patients having a re-revision with ≥ two positive deep cultures (documented treatment failures) were compared to those who did not.

RESULTS

The 17 patients that had ≥ two positive cultures at their index revision were more likely to be male, to have had ream and run procedures, and to have higher loads of Cutibacterium on pre-operative cultures of their unprepared skin. The five patients that had documented treatment failure had higher loads of Cutibacterium on their skin and in deep cultures obtained at their index revision.

CONCLUSION

Patients harboring high loads of Cutibacterium on their unprepared skin prior to revision and high loads of Cutibacterium on deep cultures at the time of their index revision are at increased risk for failure of implant exchange and antibiotics to resolve a Cutibacterium PJI.

Shoulder Hemiarthroplasty with Nonprosthetic Glenoid Arthroplasty: The Ream-and-Run Procedure

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Glenoid component wear and loosening are the principal failure modes of anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (aTSA).

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The ream-and-run (RnR) procedure is an alternative glenohumeral arthroplasty for patients who wish to avoid the risks and limitations of a prosthetic glenoid component.

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During the RnR procedure, the arthritic glenoid is conservatively reamed to a single concavity, while the prosthetic humeral component and soft tissues are balanced to provide both mobility and stability of the joint.

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The success of the RnR procedure depends on careful patient selection, preoperative education and engagement, optimal surgical technique, targeted rehabilitation, and close postoperative communication between the surgeon and the patient.

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While the RnR procedure allows high levels of shoulder function in most patients, the recovery can be longer and more arduous than with aTSA.

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Patients who have undergone an RnR procedure occasionally require a second closed or open procedure to address refractory shoulder stiffness, infection, or persistent glenoid-sided pain. These second procedures are more common after the RnR than with aTSA.

Role of pre-revision tissue biopsy in evaluation of painful shoulder arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Pre-revision tissue biopsy (PTB) for culture has been used as a diagnostic tool in the evaluation for periprosthetic joint infection among patients with a painful shoulder arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to (1) determine the sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), and positive predictive value (PPV) of PTB culture results compared with results of "gold-standard" tissue biopsy for culture taken at the time of subsequent revision surgery (TBR), and (2) report the current indications and protocols described for use of PTB. The hypothesis was that PTB culture results would correlate highly with results of TBR and that protocols for PTB would vary by institution.

METHODS

By use of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic review and meta-analysis of English-language literature were performed using the Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), and Cochrane databases from inception through March 2020. Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies (MINORS) validated grading criteria were used to summarize the quality and bias of included studies. Studies were included if an arthroscopic or open tissue biopsy was performed in patients who had previously undergone anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty, shoulder hemiarthroplasty, or reverse total shoulder arthroplasty as a separate procedure prior to revision of components, if applicable. Meta-analysis to identify the sensitivity, specificity, NPV, and PPV of PTB was performed. Analysis was performed by first defining 1 positive PTB culture result as infection and then defining 2 positive culture results as infection.

RESULTS

A total of 1751 titles were screened, and 66 full-text articles were reviewed for inclusion. Four total studies encompassing 72 cases met the inclusion criteria. All studies were small (N = 13 to N = 23), retrospective series, with all but 12 biopsies performed arthroscopically. Sixty-five patients (90.2%) underwent subsequent revision surgery and TBR. Of these patients, 23 (35.4%) had ≥1 positive culture result with PTB and TBR. By this definition, the sensitivity of PTB was 92.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 72.5%-98.6%); specificity, 70.0% (95% CI, 53.3%-82.9%); PPV, 65.7% (95% CI, 47.7%-80.3%); and NPV, 93.3% (95% CI, 76.5%-98.8%). For 2 positive PTB results, the sensitivity of PTB was 100% (95% CI, 51.7%-100%); specificity, 50.0% (95% CI, 31.4%-68.6%); PPV, 33.3% (95% CI, 14.4%-58.8%); and NPV, 100% (95% CI, 69.9%-100%). No complications of PTB were reported. The mean Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies (MINORS) grade was 11.4 (range, 8.5-14).

CONCLUSION

PTB is a sensitive diagnostic modality with a high NPV that may aid in the diagnosis of shoulder periprosthetic joint infection in patients with a painful shoulder arthroplasty. Given the disparate biopsy protocols, greater standardization of clinical best practices and broader prospective studies are necessary to define the future role of PTB in dictating treatment.

Preoperative Skin Cultures Predict Periprosthetic Infections in Revised Shoulder Arthroplasties: A Preliminary Report

Current approaches do not provide a practical method for the accurate prediction of a Cutibacterium periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in failed arthroplasties. Thus, surgeons revising failed arthroplasties must decide whether to exchange the implants and to institute antibiotic treatment without knowing the results of cultures of deep specimens obtained at the revision procedure. This study tests the hypothesis that the results of preoperative culture specimens of the skin surface obtained in the clinic can predict the presence of culture-positive Cutibacterium PJIs.

METHODS

Revision shoulder arthroplasties performed between October 3, 2017, and February 4, 2020, that had both preoperative clinic culture specimens and surgical culture specimens were included in this analysis. Culture results were assigned a value from 0 to 4. The percentage of the total skin bacterial load contributed by Cutibacterium (Cutibacterium percentage) was determined. To reduce concern about contamination, a robust criterion for culture-positive Cutibacterium PJI was applied: ≥2 surgical specimens with a Cutibacterium value of ≥1. The predictive values for a culture-positive Cutibacterium PJI were determined for a clinic skin culture Cutibacterium value of >1 and a clinic skin percentage of Cutibacterium of ≥75%.

RESULTS

Eighteen cases met the inclusion criteria; of these, 7 (6 male patients) met our criterion for a culture-positive Cutibacterium PJI. For all patients, a preoperative clinic skin Cutibacterium value of >1 predicted the presence of a culture-positive Cutibacterium PJI with an accuracy of 89%, and a clinic skin Cutibacterium percentage of ≥75% predicted the presence of a culture-positive Cutibacterium PJI with an accuracy of 94%. For male patients, a preoperative clinic skin Cutibacterium value of >1 predicted the presence of a culture-positive Cutibacterium PJI with an accuracy of 91%, and a clinic skin Cutibacterium percentage of ≥75% predicted the presence of a culture-positive Cutibacterium PJI with an accuracy of 100%.

CONCLUSIONS

A simple culture specimen of the unprepared skin surface obtained in a clinic prior to revision shoulder arthroplasty may provide valuable assistance to surgeons planning a revision arthroplasty.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.