Two-stage revision arthroplasty for coagulase-negative staphylococcal periprosthetic joint infection of the hip and knee

Heterotopic hip ossification resection: monocentric experiences of associated factors, outcomes, and complications

PURPOSE

The exponential increase in total hip arthroplasty (THA) has led to acute and chronic surgery-related complications. Common chronic and local complications are represented by hip ossification (HO). The aim of our study was to assess the clinical and radiological correlates of patients undergoing surgical removal of heterotopic ossifications after THA and the possible association between HO and prosthetic joint infection.

METHODS

Data of 26 patients who underwent surgical removal of periprosthetic calcifications after THA from 2000 to 2022 were analyzed and compared with characteristics of 156 subjects without HO.

RESULTS

The preoperative radiographs of patients showed a high-grade Brooker, 3 or 4, later reduced to 1 or 2 in the postoperative radiographs. Ten (38.5%) patients underwent radiotherapy prophylaxis, administered as a single dose 24 h before surgery. In 19 (73%) patients, pharmacological prophylaxis with indomethacin was added in the 30 postoperative days. Only one patient who underwent radiotherapy had a recurrence, while new ossifications were found in three patients without prophylaxis (11.5%). Intraoperative cultures were performed for suspected periprosthetic infection in 8 study group patients. In logistic regression, the presence of HO was significantly and inversely associated with the ASA score (OR = 0.27, 95% CI = 0.09-0.82; P = 0.021) after adjusting.

CONCLUSION

Surgical HO removal in symptomatic patients with high-grade disease produces good clinical and radiographic results. Radiotherapy was a good perioperative and preventive strategy for recurrence, also associated with NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors.

High Risk for Persistent Peri-Prosthetic Infection and Amputation in Mega-Prosthesis Reconstruction

A peri-prosthetic joint infection is a feared complication after mega-prosthesis reconstruction of large bone defects. The current study investigates how patients operated with a mega-prosthesis due to sarcoma, metastasis, or trauma, are affected by a deep infection focusing on re-operations, risk for persistent infection, arthrodesis, or subsequent amputation. Time to infection, causative bacterial strains, mode of treatment and length of hospital stay are also reported. A total of 114 patients with 116 prostheses were evaluated, a median of 7.6 years (range 3.8-13.7) after surgery, of which 35 (30%) were re-operated due to a peri-prosthetic infection. Of the infected patients, the prosthesis was still in place in 51%, 37% were amputated, and 9% had an arthrodesis. The infection was persistent in 26% of the infected patients at follow-up. The mean total length of hospital stay was 68 (median 60) days and the mean number of reoperations was 8.9 (median 6.0). The mean length of antibiotic treatment was 340 days (median 183). Coagulase-negative staphylococci and Staphylococcus aureus were the most frequent bacterial agents isolated in deep cultures. No MRSA- or ESBL-producing Enterobacterales were found but vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium was isolated in one patient. In summary, there is a high risk for peri-prosthetic infection in mega-prostheses, resulting in persistent infection or amputation relatively often.

Prosthetic Knee Infection With Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcus: A Harbinger of Poor Outcomes

BACKGROUND

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are biofilm-producing pathogens whose role in periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is increasing. There is little data on the prognosis and treatment considerations in the setting of PJI. We sought to evaluate the clinical characteristics, outcomes, and complications in these patients.

METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort study of adult patients at a single tertiary medical center from 2009 to 2020 with culture-proven CoNS PJI after total knee arthroplasty, as diagnosed by Musculoskeletal Infection Society criteria. The primary outcome was treatment success, with failure defined as recurrent CoNS PJI, recurrent PJI with a new pathogen, and/or chronic oral antibiotic suppression at one year postoperatively.

RESULTS

We identified 55 patients with a CoNS total knee arthroplasty PJI with a mean follow-up of 29.8 months (SD: 16.3 months). The most commonly isolated organism was Staphylococcus epidermidis (n = 36, 65.5%). The overall prevalence of methicillin resistance was 63%. Surgical treatment included surgical debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention in 25 (45.5%) cases and two-stage revision (22 articulating and eight static antibiotic-impregnated spacers). At one-year follow-up, only 47% of patients had successful management of their infection. The surgical debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention cohort had the higher rate of treatment failure (60.0%) compared to two-stage revision (46.7%).

CONCLUSION

These results indicate a poor rate of success in treating CoNS PJI. This likely represents the interplay of inherent virulence through biofilm formation and decreased antibiotic efficacy.

Current actual success rate of the two-stage exchange arthroplasty strategy in chronic hip and knee periprosthetic joint infection

AIMS

The success rates of two-stage revision arthroplasty for infection have evolved since their early description. The implementation of internationally accepted outcome criteria led to the readjustment of such rates. However, patients who do not undergo reimplantation are usually set aside from these calculations. The aim of this study was to investigate the outcomes of two-stage revision arthroplasty when considering those who do not undergo reimplantation, and to investigate the characteristics of this subgroup.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted. Patients with chronic hip or knee periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) treated with two-stage revision between January 2010 and October 2018, with a minimum follow-up of one year, were included. Variables including demography, morbidity, microbiology, and outcome were collected. The primary endpoint was the eradication of infection. Patients who did not undergo reimplantation were analyzed in order to characterize this subgroup better.

RESULTS

A total of 162 chronic PJIs were included in the study. After a mean follow-up of 57.3 months (12.1 to 115.7), 18 patients (11.1%) did not undergo reimplantation, due either to medical issues (10), the patient's choice (4), or death (4). When only considering those who underwent reimplantation, the success rate was 80.6%. However, when those who did not undergo reimplantation were included, the success rate dropped to 71.6%. Advanced age, American Society of Anesthesiologists grade ≥ III, McPherson's C host, and Gram-negative related PJI were independent risk factors for retention of the spacer. The mortality was higher in the non-reimplanted group.

CONCLUSION

The real success rate of two-stage revision may not be as high as previously reported. The exclusion of patients who do not undergo reimplantation resulted in a 9% overestimation of the success rate in this series. Many comorbidity-related risk factors for retention of the spacer were identified, as well as higher death rates in this group. Efforts should be made to optimize these patients medically in order to increase reimplantation and success rates, while decreasing mortality. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2020;102-B(12):1682-1688.