Treatment of acutely infected arthroplasty with local antibiotics

The authors have identified 22 patients with acutely infected total joint arthroplasties, 9 hips, and 13 knees. Following organism identification and assessment of the patients' general medical condition, the patients were treated with an implantable antibiotic pump. This allowed the delivery of a high concentration of antibiotic solution to a localized area. Systemic levels of antibiotic were kept to a minimum, thereby eliminating potential serious side effects of antibiotic treatment. Local concentrations were extremely high, exceeding the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) in all cases by 8-10-fold. Twenty patients have been followed for 30 months, and of these, 17 patients are considered to be infection free. There were three failures. The organisms that have been treated have been gram negatives, gram positives, and some mixed infections. Results are encouraging with this form of treatment, and additional patients are continually being added to the study.