Historical perspective on two-stage reimplantation for infection after total hip arthroplasty at Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City

Am J Orthop (Belle Mead NJ). 2011 Nov;40(11):E236-40.

Abstract

In this article, we report on our use of a 2-stage exchange in managing infected total hip arthroplasties (THAs) at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. This protocol involves resection arthroplasty, 6 weeks of intravenous antibiotics to obtain a minimum "postpeak" serum bactericidal titer (SBT) of 1:8, and reimplantation. Over the past 20 years, we have conducted several studies showing the effectiveness of this treatment. Since our previous report was published in 1994, prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) organisms has increased significantly. In 2008, we set out to determine if 2-stage exchange remains an effective treatment for newer pathogens, many of which are MDR. The overall eradication rate was 95% (80/84 hips). All 21 MDR pathogens implicated in the infected THAs were eradicated. We conclude that 2-stage exchange with a standard 1:8 minimum SBT remains an effective treatment even when resistant infections are involved.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / adverse effects*
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Prosthesis-Related Infections / drug therapy*
  • Prosthesis-Related Infections / surgery
  • Reoperation
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents