Postoperative Infection after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Prevention and Management.

Infection following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction can be one of the most debilitating complications following ACL reconstruction. Its reported incidence is around 1%. Utilization of vancomycin for presoaking the graft is considered an established method for infection prevention. The role of other agents, such as gentamycin needs further investigation. Staphylococci are the predominant causative pathogens, while particular attention should be paid to fungal infections due to their long-standing, occult process. Recent data demonstrate that hamstrings autograft may be at an elevated risk of being contaminated leading to subsequent septic arthritis. Diagnosis is set by clinical and laboratory findings and is usually confirmed by intraoperative cultures. Treatment varies, mainly depending on the intraoperative assessment. Satisfactory outcomes have been reported with both graft retaining and removal, and the decision is made upon the arthroscopic appearance of the graft and the characteristics of the infection. Of note, early management seems to lead to superior results, while persistent infection should be managed with graft removal in an attempt to protect the articular cartilage and the knee function.

The aspiration test reveals an instability of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus in almost one-third of ACL-injured patients.

PURPOSE: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries often lead to associated injuries of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus (PHLM). Arthroscopic, assessment of PHLM instability may be difficult in the absence of a visible meniscus damage. The main objective of this prospective multi-center study was to compare the ability of the probing and aspiration tests to identify PHLM instability in a population of patients undergoing ACL reconstruction (ACLR) and a control group of patients with an intact ACL undergoing knee arthroscopy. METHODS: A prospective case-control analysis was performed in three sports medicine centers. One-hundred and three consecutive patients operated for a primary isolated ACLR without structural lateral meniscus damage other than a root tear were included. They were compared to a control group of 29 consecutive patients who had a knee arthroscopy with an intact ACL and no structural lateral meniscus lesion. The probing and aspiration tests were consecutively executed according to previously published methods. RESULTS: In the control group, no lateral meniscus lesions were visualized during arthroscopy, and both probing and aspiration tests were negative in all patients. In the group of ACL-injured patients, a Forkel type I-III posterolateral meniscus root tear (PLMRT) was found in 12 patients (12%). In this subgroup, the probing test was positive in 4/12 patients (33%) and the aspiration test in 5 additional patients (75%). In 15 patients (15%), an elongation of the posterior root of the lateral meniscus (defined as type IV PLMRT as an addendum to the Forkel classification) could be observed during arthroscopy. In this subgroup, only 1 patient displayed a PHLM instability with the probing test (7%), whereas the aspiration test was positive in 13/15 patients (87%). In the remaining 76 patients (74%), no structural lesion of the PHLM could be identified. Nevertheless, an instability of the PHLM could be identified in 8 of them (11%) with the probing test, and the aspiration test was positive in 2 additional knees (13%) of this apparently normal subgroup. Altogether, in the entire ACL injury cohort, a positive probing test was observed in 13/103 patients (13%) and a positive aspiration test in 32/103 knees (31%) (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Careful observation and examination of the PHLM with the aspiration test revealed a substantial amount of previously undiagnosed lateral meniscus instabilities in ACL-injured knees. The prevalence of PHLM instability as evaluated by the aspiration test was high (31%). The aspiration test was superior to the probing test in detecting an instability of the PHLM in a population of ACL-injured patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

Management strategies for prosthetic joint infection: long-term infection control rates, overall survival rates, functional and quality of life outcomes.

DAIR (debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention), one-stage and two-stage revision surgery are the most common management strategies for prosthetic joint infection (PJI) management. Our knowledge concerning their efficacy is based on short to medium-term low-quality studies.Most studies report infection recurrence rates or infection-free time intervals. However, long-term survival rates of the infection-free joints, functional and quality of life outcome data are of paramount importance.DAIR, one-stage and two-stage revision strategies are not unique surgical techniques, presenting several variables. Infection control rates for the above strategies vary from 75% to 90%, but comparisons are difficult because different indications and patient selection criteria are used in each strategy.Recent outcome data show that DAIR and one-stage revision in selected patients (based on host, bacteriological, soft tissue and type of infection criteria) may present improved functional and quality of life outcomes and reduced costs for health systems as compared to those of two-stage revision.It is expected that health system administrators and providers will apply pressure on surgeons and departments towards the wider use of DAIR and one-stage revision strategies. It is the orthopaedic surgeon's responsibility to conduct quality studies in order to fully clarify the indications and outcomes of the different revision strategies. Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2021;6:727-734. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.6.210008.

A Challenging Case of Extraordinary - Long standing Forearm Non-union Treated with Extensive Debridement, Locking Plates, and Bone Grafting. Technical Considerations in Multiple-operated, Neglected Non-unions.

INTRODUCTION: Forearm non-unions pose a significant treatment challenge to orthopedic surgeons. Repetitive treatment failures can lead to a devastating situation for the patient. Forearm function influences both elbow and wrist proper function. CASE REPORT: A functionless hand is presented, describing a longstanding non-union, treated with multiple surgeries before. A thorough debridement with respect to blood supply and local biology are of major importance before applying the locking plates along with the use of bone-graft. The reconstruction of the forearm converted a functionless arm to a fully functioning arm and the patient returned eventually to her previous activities. CONCLUSION: Fixation with locking plates combined with the use of autograft can lead to very satisfactory results even in extraordinary cases, especially when attention is paid to local anatomy and blood supply.

Direct medical costs of interprosthetic femoral fracture treatment: A cohort analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Periprosthetic femoral fractures (PPFs) represent a challenging clinical problem with a fast-rising incidence. Interprosthetic fractures (IPFs) represent one of its most difficult variants. There is a paucity of data regarding the financial burden of PPFs, and none for IPFs. This study aims to estimate the direct medical cost of the surgical treatment of IPFs in NHS, and analyse the factors influencing this when using different methods of surgical treatment. METHODS: A cohort of patients with IPFs treated in a single academic unit over a period of 8-years with different surgical methods was studied. In-hospital details, as well as outpatient follow-up data, were gathered relevant to their clinical and radiological outcome until discharge. Local and national NHS data were acquired from the financial department, as well as industry-related resources. The economic analysis was structured as a cost identification analysis (CIA) of the overall cohort, but also as a comparative best-case scenario (uncomplicated course till discharge) comparison between the 3 main different management strategies (a) revision arthroplasty (RTHA), b) plate fixation (ORIF), c) combination of implants (COMBO). RESULTS: Data from 28 patients (22 females) with IPFs were analysed with a median age of 78.4 years. The overall direct medical cost of treating this cohort of patients was £468,330, with a median of £15.625 (range £10,128 to 33,060). Comparing the three different surgical modalities, the median cost in groups a, b, and c was £20,793 (range £12,110 to £24,116), £12,979 (range £10,128 to £20,555), and £22,316 (range £10,938 to £23,081) respectively. In all groups, the 2/3 of the identified costs were relevant to the inpatient stay. Transfusions were the highest (3 units of cRBC on average) to the patients that received a revision THA vs the other two groups (p=0.022). There was statistically significant higher mean overall cost between the RTHA and the ORIF groups (£19,453 vs. £14,201, p=0.0242), but not when compared with the COMBO cases (£19,453 vs. £18,788, p=0.86). CONCLUSION: The first cost identification study and "best case scenario" comparative analysis for IPFs demonstrated a significant overall direct medical cost, when managing these complex fractures with variable contemporary techniques. Evidence based reimbursement strategies should be developed to allow the sustainability of the clinical service we offer in this challenging patient population.

Soaking of autografts with vancomycin is highly effective on preventing postoperative septic arthritis in patients undergoing ACL reconstruction with hamstrings autografts.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of local soaking of the autografts with vancomycin during anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction on postoperative infection rates. METHODS: Between 2003 and 2014 (first study period), 1,242 patients underwent ACL reconstruction using autografts, without soaking them in vancomycin solution, while between 2014 and 2019 (second study period) all ACL autografts in 593 patients were soaked in a 5-mg/ml vancomycin solution, in a territory University Hospital. The same standard treatment of perioperative IV antibiotics was applied in both groups. RESULTS: Postoperative septic arthritis occurred in seven out of 1,242 patients (0.56%) during the first study period. Bone patellar tendon bone autograft was used in 311 (25%) patients, and hamstring tendon autograft was used in the rest 931 (75%) of the study population during this period. All infected cases were male and had a hamstrings graft implanted. There were no postoperative infections (0%) in 593 ACL reconstructions during the second study period. Bone patellar tendon bone autograft was used in 178 (30%) patients while hamstring tendon autograft was used in the rest 415 (70%) of the study population, during this period. Statistical analysis revealed a significantly reduced postoperative infection rate (p = 0.018) between the two reported periods, with the main impact referring to the use of hamstrings autograft (p = 0.031) for the first study period. CONCLUSIONS: Septic arthritis following ACL reconstruction can be significantly reduced (or even eliminated) by soaking ACL autografts in a 5 mg/ml vancomycin solution. Of note, this strategy seems to be more effective in the setting of hamstring tendon autograft use, since the risk of postoperative knee infection is significantly higher when this type of graft is used.

Transfusion Rates in Total Hip Arthroplasty Are lower in Patients with Direct Anterior Approach.

BACKGROUND: Blood conservation and reduction in the need for allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) has been a subject of importance in total hip arthroplasty. There are a number of well-recognized parameters that influence blood loss during total hip arthroplasty (THA). The role of surgical approach on blood loss and the rate of ABT during THA is not well studied. The hypothesis of this study was that blood loss and the need for ABT is lower with direct anterior (DA) approach. METHODS: In a case-control retrospective cohort study, we analyzed 1,524 primary THAs performed at a single institution by seven fellowship-trained surgeons between January 2015 to March 2017. All patients received THA using either the modified direct lateral (DL) or direct anterior (DA) approach using a standard operating table. The overall ABT rate was 10.2% (155/1,524) in the cohort. Demographic, surgical, and postoperative data were extracted and analyzed. Logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for transfusion. RESULTS: Higher preoperative hemoglobin (p<0.001), use of DA approach (p<0.016) and administration of tranexamic acid TXA, (p=0.024) were identified as independent factors which reduced the odds of ABT. Operative time (p<0.001) was associated with an increased odd of ABT, while age, BMI and type of anesthesia were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, direct anterior approach for THA appears to be protective against blood loss and reduced ABT rate, when controlling for confounding variables.

Individualized surgery in primary total knee arthroplasty.

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a satisfactory procedure for end-stage knee joint pathology. However, there is a significant incidence of unsatisfied patients.In recent years conventional total knee arthroplasty surgical technique has been challenged and a modern trend to respect individual anatomy, alignment and soft tissue laxities has been developed.The indications, limits and outcomes of these modern techniques in selected patients are not well-defined.Modern technology (navigation, patient-specific instrumentation and robotics) has improved accuracy of the osteotomies but their effect on long-term outcomes is still unclear.A technique which respects individual anatomy, laxities and alignment in combination with an implant which is designed to incorporate contemporary knee kinematics, without the use of modern technology, is presented. Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2020;5:663-671. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.5.190085.

Periprosthetic Joint Infection in Patients Who Have Multiple Prostheses in Place: What Should Be Done with the Silent Prosthetic Joints.

BACKGROUND: Although periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) can affect multiple joints concurrently, the majority of patients with multiple prosthetic joints present with PJI of a single joint. Data regarding the optimal management of these patients are limited. We aimed to identify the prevalence, risk factors for a subsequent PJI, and clinical circumstances of PJI in patients with multiple prosthetic joints. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 197 patients with ≥2 total joint prostheses in place who presented with PJI from 2000 to 2017. The average follow-up was 3.6 years (range, 0.5 to 17 years). Demographic data and risk factors for synchronous or metachronous PJI were identified. The time from the initial to the second PJI and organism profile data were collected as well. The workup for other joints with a prosthesis in place at the time of the initial PJI was noted. RESULTS: Among the 197 patients with PJI and multiple joint prostheses in situ, 37 (19%) developed PJI in another joint; 11 had a synchronous PJI and 26 had a metachronous PJI. The average time between the first and the second infection in the metachronous cases was 848 days (range, 20 to 3,656 days). Females and patients with an initial PJI with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were more likely to have a metachronous PJI, and patients with rheumatoid arthritis had an increased risk of a second (metachronous or synchronous) PJI. Three of 11 patients in the synchronous group and 19% (5) of the 26 in the metachronous group had bacteremia at the time of the initial PJI compared with 12% (19) of the 160 with a single PJI. The percentage of negative cultures increased from 10% for the initial PJIs to 38% for the metachronous PJIs. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who have multiple prosthetic joints in place and present with PJI of a single joint are at risk of developing PJI in another joint. Female sex, rheumatoid arthritis, bacteremia at presentation, and infection with MRSA appear to be risk factors for PJI of another joint. Clinical evaluation of the other prosthetic joint(s) should be carried out in all patients and aspiration of those joint(s) should be considered for patients with any of the above risk factors. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia periprosthetic joint infection after reverse total shoulder arthroplasty.

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a well-known opportunistic Gram-negative bacterium causing mainly hospital-acquired infections, which rarely affects the musculoskeletal system. We report the first case, to our knowledge, of a periprosthetic infection caused by this pathogen in an artificial joint. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia has the ability to form biofilm, and subsequently should not be excluded in the investigation of prosthetic joint infections. Management in the establishment of such an infection demands aggressive operative treatment in conjunction with the proper antibacterial administration.

Total hip arthroplasty in patients with osteoporosis.

There is a high prevalence of osteoporosis in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. There are several clinically relevant questions related to the management of such cases: the effect of ageing; the initial osseointegration of implants, especially when cementless THA is used; the effect of medical osteoporosis treatment on bone-implant interface; the incidence of intraoperative and late periprosthetic fractures, and the long-term survival of both cemented and cementless total hip arthroplasty performed for proximal femoral fractures and hip osteoarthritis. A critical review of the literature is presented in an attempt to draw practical conclusions.

Results of Arthroscopic Bankart Repair in Recreational Athletes and Laborers: A Retrospective Study With 5 to 14 Years of Follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Arthroscopic Bankart repair is the most common procedure for anterior shoulder instability management. However, the long-term efficacy of the procedure is questionable, and the results are different among different populations. Few studies have focused on specific populations, such as recreational athletes and laborers. HYPOTHESIS: Good to excellent long-term results, with a low recurrence rate, can be achieved using arthroscopic Bankart repair in recreational athletes and laborers suffering from anterior shoulder instability. STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: A specific group of laborers and recreational athletes were included in this study. A total of 52 patients (52 shoulders) with anterior-inferior traumatic shoulder instability underwent arthroscopic Bankart repair and met our strict criteria for study inclusion. The recurrence rate was recorded. Patients were evaluated at a minimum follow-up of 5 years using the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, the Rowe score, the Constant score, and a visual analog scale (VAS) for pain. A radiological evaluation for arthritis was also performed according to the Samilson-Prieto classification. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 105.4 months (range, 65-164 months). Our overall recurrence rate was 11.5% (6/52 patients). All patients were able to return to their previous job status with minimum limitations, and 76.7% of our study population reported returning to their preinjury sporting activities. Postoperatively, all scores were improved, with statistically significant increases from preoperative values (P < .001). At the last radiographic follow-up, 9 patients (18.8%) had mild arthritis, while 2 patients (4.2%) had moderate arthritis. CONCLUSION: Arthroscopic soft tissue Bankart repair may provide good to excellent long-term clinical results with an acceptable recurrence rate in medium-demand patients (recreational athletes and laborers).

Outcomes of Superficial and Deep Irrigation and Debridement in Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Following total knee arthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty, wound-related problems and deep periprosthetic joint infection may present in a similar fashion. Irrigation and debridement (I&D) has a great role in management of patients with early infection. The question that often arises is how to tell the difference between superficial and deep infection. This study evaluated the role and outcomes of both superficial and deep I&D in patients with wound-related issues and/or suspected periprosthetic joint infection. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted evaluating patients who underwent I&D within 28 days of total joint arthroplasty. A total of 176 cases with a minimum of 1-year follow-up were identified, and clinical records were reviewed in detail. Reoperations included superficial (fascia not opened) or deep (fascia opened) I&D. Failure was defined as the need for further surgical intervention within 1 year of initial I&D. RESULTS: The overall success for superficial I&D was 84.28% vs 68.86% for deep I&D. The success of both deep and superficial I&D was higher if the I&D was performed closer to the index surgery. Superficial I&D in patients with a positive joint aspiration or evidence of intraoperative purulence or those in whom had no subcutaneous fluid had higher failure rates. CONCLUSION: Superficial I&D is a viable option in patients with wound-related issues as long as joint aspiration is performed to rule out infection involving the prosthesis. If there are findings of no fluid or purulence, fascia may need to be opened and the deeper tissues explored.