ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the local antibacterial efficacy of saline, rifampicin, gentamicin, high-concentration fusidic acid and low-concentration fusidic acid in the decontamination of allografts contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus. METHODS: Fifty-five sterile, fresh-frozen femoral heads obtained from the bone bank were contaminated with methicillin-sensitive ATCC 25923 Staphylococcus aureus. Samples were divided into groups and debrided with high-pressure (80 psi) pulse lavage using a saline, rifampicin irrigation solution (50 mg/l), gentamicin irrigation solution (50 mg/l) and low- (50 mg/l) or high-concentration (500 mg/l) fusidic acid irrigation solution for 30 seconds from a distance of 10 cm. After irrigation, allografts were incubated in the culture and developed colonies were counted. Mean±standard deviation (min-max) values were calculated. The differences between the four irrigation groups were evaluated using the Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis and groups were compared two at a time using the post-hoc Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: No colonization was detected with the exception of one allograft in the rifampicin irrigation group. The gentamicin irrigation group had similar results as the high-concentration fusidic acid irrigation group and both results were superior to those of the saline and low-concentration fusidic acid irrigation groups (p=0.010 and 0.004, respectively). The low- and high-concentration fusidic acid irrigation groups were similar and were not shown to have superior results than saline irrigation group. CONCLUSION: Rifampicin irrigation solution was the most effective in the decontamination of allografts previously contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus. Gentamicin, high-concentration fusidic acid, low-concentration fusidic and saline irrigation solutions may also be used respectively, according to their effectiveness.
