Elution of High Dose Amphotericin B Deoxycholate From Polymethylmethacrylate

Fungal periprosthetic joint infections are rare, devastating complications of arthroplasty. There is conflicting evidence as to the efficacy of amphotericin B elution from cement spacers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether concentrations of amphotericin B released from bone cement over time would be efficacious in treating a periprosthetic infection. A continuous flow chamber was used to evaluate the in vitro release of amphotericin from cement beads containing 7.5% amphotericin. Following polymerization, 3.3% of the initially loaded amphotericin B was detected. The peak mean concentration eluted from the bone cement was 0.33 μg/mL at 8 hours. The AUC0-24 was 2.79 μg/mL/h; 0.20% of the amphotericin B was released. In conclusion, amphotericin B is released from bone cement at a clinically useful concentration.