Efficacy of gentamycin-impregnated resorbable hydroxyapatite cement in treating osteomyelitis in a rat model

To test the effectiveness of a self-setting hydroxyapatite cement (HAC) as a carrier of gentamycin for the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis in a rat model by using a void-fill placement technique.

Osteomyelitis of the tibia was created with Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 49230) in sixty retired female breeder Sprague-Dawley rats by using the model by Korkusuz et al. (J Bone Joint Surg 1993;75B:111-114). At seven weeks after infection, all animals demonstrated clinical and radiographic signs of osteomyelitis and were debrided and divided into four treatment groups: A, debridement only; B, debridement and daily intraperitoneal gentamycin (0.2 milligram per kilogram per day); C, debridement and gentamycin-impregnated HAC in a void-fill model (1.0 milligram per kilogram of gentamycin); and D, debridement and gentamycin-impregnated polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads (1.0 milligram per kilogram of gentamycin). Tibiae were harvested at zero weeks (control, n = 6), three weeks (n = 3 per group), five weeks (n = 4 per group), and seven weeks (n = 4 per group) and analyzed with quantitative bacteriologic analysis.

Qualitative bacteriologic analysis was performed by using serial dilution plating of homogenized tissue samples on standard soy trypticase agar plates. Reexamination by phage typing was performed to exclude contamination.

The quantitative counts for Groups C (HAC) and D (PMMA) were significantly less (p < 0.003) than those for Group A (debridement alone) or Group B (intraperitoneal gentamycin) at all time points after time zero. There was no difference between Groups C and D at any time point.

HAC is an effective adjuvant in treating chronic osteomyelitis in a rat model when using a void-fill placement technique.