[Allergy to bone cement components]

Intolerance reactions to endoprostheses may lead to allergological diagnostics, which focus mainly on metal allergy. However, bone cement may also contain potential allergens, e.g. acrylates and additives such as benzoyl peroxide (BPO), N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine, hydroquinone, and antibiotics (particularly gentamicin). In the Munich implant allergy clinic, we found that 28 of 113 patients (24.8%) with cemented prostheses had contact allergies to bone cement components, mostly to gentamicin (16.8%) and BPO (8.0%). The clinical significance of test results cannot always be shown, but we still recommend including bone cement components in the allergological diagnostics of suspected hypersensitivity reactions to arthroplasty.