Implantation of antibiotic calcium sulfate carriers in two-stage revision for periprosthetic knee joint infection / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the feasibility of replacing the femoral prosthesis and implanting antibiotic calcium sulfate carriers in a two-stage revision for periprosthetic infection following total knee arthroplasty (TKA).Methods:Between May 2017 and January 2020, 35 patients were admitted to Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital to Zhengzhou University for periprosthetic infection after TKA. They were 12 males and 23 females, aged from 49 to 84 years (average, 67.9 years). The two-stage revision for periprosthetic infection was performed for all of them and replacement of femoral prosthesis and implantation of antibiotic calcium sulfate carriers were carried out in stage-one revision. Recorded were postoperative culture of micro-organisms, white blood cell count (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) before stage-one and stage-two revisions; the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee score, range of motion (ROM) and American Knee Society Score (KSS) were compared between preoperation and the last follow-up.Results:Postoperative negative culture was found in 22 cases (62.9%), and positive one in 13 cases (37.1%) of which 4 were caused by Staphylococcus aureus, 2 by Staphylococcus epidermidis, 2 by Candida glabrata, 2 by Candida parapsilosis, one by Candida albicans, one by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and one by Escherichia coli. WBC, ESR and CRP decreased on average from 13.67×10 9/L, 49.71 mm/h and 45.13 mg/L before stage-one revision to 6.44×10 9/L, 18.79 mm/h and 7.82 mg/L before stage-two revision. All patients were followed up for an average of 22.4 months (from 8 to 41 months). At the last follow-up, ROM, HSS and KSS were significantly increased from preoperative 73.2°±15.9°, 59.5±14.6 and 36.1±6.0 to 105.6°±13.2°, 84.3±10.0 and 86.1±5.6, respectively ( P<0.05). None of the patients showed any sign of re-infection at the last follow-up. Conclusion:For patients with periprosthetic infection following total knee arthroplasty, replacing femoral prosthesis and implantation of antibiotic calcium sulfate carriers can well control infection, facilitating recovery of range of motion and function after surgery.