Qadir R. J Arthroplasty. 2014. doi:10.1016/j.arth.2014.02.032.
Judicious risk-stratified usage of antibiotic cement during primary total knee arthroplasty may not decrease infection at 1 year, according to study results.
Researchers retrospectively reviewed data for 3,292 patients who underwent primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Patients were grouped into cohorts based on whether their surgery involved plain or antibiotic cement, or if they were high-risk patients who received antibiotic cement, and infection rates were compared between the cohorts.
Study results showed a 30-day infection rate of 0.29% in cohort 1, 0.2% in cohort 2 and 0.13% in cohort 3.
Infection rates in all cohorts increased at all time points, with 6-month rates at 0.39% in cohort 1, 0.54% in cohort 2 and 0.38% in cohort 3, and 1-year rates at 0.78% in cohort 1, 0.61% in cohort 2 and 0.64% in cohort 3. However, no statistically significant between-group differences in infection rates were seen at any of the time intervals studied, according to the researchers.
Disclosure: Chimento received research support from DePuy and is an associate board member for Louisiana Orthopedic.
