Outcomes following staged bilateral total hip replacement: does first-side surgery predict the second?

INTRODUCTION

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for bilateral staged total hip replacements (THRs) were reviewed to determine whether first-side surgery can predict second-side outcomes.

METHODS

A retrospective review was undertaken of a consecutive cohort of staged bilateral THRs using the same approach, implant and technique, from August 2009 to February 2020. Minimal important change (MIC) in PROMs was set at ≥5.

RESULTS

A total of 296 consecutive staged bilateral THRs were performed in 148 patients. Mean time interval between sides was 25 months (range 2-102). Mean age was 63.2 years for the first side and 65.3 years for the second; 62.8% of patients were female. Mean body mass index was 31.08 for the first side, increasing to 31.57 for the second side (p = 0.248). One-year follow-up PROMs were available for 96.6% and 92.5% of the first and second side, respectively. Mean PROMs improvement at 1 year was 26.4 for the first side and 25.1 for the second side (p = 0.207). Some 97.9% of patients achieved MIC for the first side and 96.3% for the second side (p = 0.092). Eight patients failed to reach an MIC on one side, all were female (p < 0.001); however, MIC was achieved for the contralateral side. Seven of eight patients (87.5%) achieved MIC by 2 years.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified no significant difference between first- and second-side PROMs improvements following staged bilateral THRs at 1-year follow-up. Failure to reach MIC on one side does not preclude success on the other. Female patients were more prone to not reach MIC at 1 year, but improvement was still subsequently achieved in the majority of cases. The informed consent process is able to reflect this expectation.

Debridement, antibiotics and implant retention (DAIR) following hip and knee arthroplasty: results and findings of a multidisciplinary approach from a non-specialist prosthetic infection centre

INTRODUCTION

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a catastrophic complication following arthroplasty surgery. Recently a debridement, antibiotics and implant retention (DAIR) procedure has gained popularity for PJI where a thorough debridement, irrigation and modular component exchange is undertaken.

METHOD

We present the outcome for DAIR, data collected prospectively, in a busy orthopaedic unit but not one specialising in PJI. All patients with PJI were included without loss of data or patients from 2012 to 2018 with a minimum follow-up of 5 years.

RESULTS

Four total knee replacements, 17 total hip replacements, one revision total hip replacement and three hip hemiarthroplasties are included with an average duration from onset of symptoms to the DAIR procedure of 11 days (range 1-22 days). Staphylococcus aureus (24%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (32%) were the most common causative organisms, and the most common antibiotic regimens included intravenous teicoplanin and flucloxacillin. Average follow-up was 67 months (range 9-104 months). Only four patients went on to require revision surgery. An analysis of midterm patient outcome measures for 6 of the total hip replacement (THR) DAIR patients were compared with a database of 792 THRs (with a minimum two-year follow-up) carried out by the same surgeon revealed no significant difference in Oxford hip scores at one-year post-surgery (OHS DAIR 36.2 vs 39 for control group).

CONCLUSION

This study includes 25 consecutive patients treated with DAIR with only one reinfection, with a mean follow-up period of 5 years. Using a strict protocol, DAIR appears to offer a successful treatment strategy for the management of early PJI.