Treatment of tibial osteomyelitis with versus without antibiotic cement after radical debridement

Yun HAN; Jinxing YANG; Mengchun ZHANG; Wanyin YU; Lijun LIU; Junfeng HUANG

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To compare the therapeutic outcomes between use of antibiotic cement versus non-use of antibiotic cement in the treatment of tibial osteomyelitis after radical debridement.

Methods:

A retrospective analysis was made of the 68 patients with local tibial osteomyelitis of Cierny-Mader Type Ⅳ who had been treated at Department of Orthopaedic Trauma, The Second People’s Hospital of Shenzhen from January 2010 to June 2015. The dead space was filled with antibiotic-impregnated bone cement beans after radical debridement of the infected bone in 32 of them (cement group) but was not in 36 of them (no-cement group). The operations for both groups were performed by the same surgical team who filled the bone defects after excision of infected bone using Ilizarov bone transport. The 2 groups were compared in terms of Paley functional scores of bone and limb, external fixation index (EFI), infection recurrence rate, total hospital costs and other complications.

Results:

The 2 groups were comparable because there was no significant difference between them in the preoperative general data ( P>0.05). The cement group was followed up for (71.2±8.9) months and the no-cement group for (71.6±9.7) months, showing no significant difference ( P>0.05). By the Paley functional scores, the good to excellent rate for bone was 100% for both groups (32/32 versus 36/36) while the good to excellent rate for limb was 93.8% (30/32) for the cement group and 94.4% (34/36) for the no-cement group, showing no significant differences between them ( P>0.05). The EFI was (49.0±10.5) d/cm for the cement group and (49.5±11.4) d/cm for the no-cement group, showing no significant differences between them ( P>0.05). The infection recurrence rate at the final follow-up was 3.12% (1/32) for the cement group and 2.78% (1/36) for the no-cement group, showing no significant differences between them ( P>0.05). The total hospital cost was (70,944.1 ± 1,135.5) Yuan RMB for the cement group and (55,205.2 ± 897.3) Yuan RMB for the no-cement group, showing a significant difference ( P<0.05). No serious complications with sequelae were found in either of the 2 groups.

Conclusion:

In the treatment of local tibial osteomyelitis of Cierny-Mader Type Ⅳ, it is not necessary to fill the dead space with antibiotic cement when radical debridement is achieved.