Use of a Silver Nylon Dressing Following Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Decreases the Postoperative Infection Rate

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a potentially catastrophic complication of total joint replacement. Our purpose was to determine whether the use of a silver dressing reduces the incidence of superficial and deep PJI following primary total hip replacement and total knee replacement.

A case-control study of primary total hip replacement and total knee replacement was performed to compare the incidence of superficial and deep PJI in patients who received a silver nylon dressing with patients who received a standard dressing.

The incidence of infection was significantly lower in the study group compared with the control group. There were no deep PJIs in the silver dressing group. Twelve patients (2.3%) in the control group developed PJI.

The use of a silver dressing significantly reduced the incidence of superficial and deep PJI following total joint replacement (P = 0.010). Given the financial impact of PJI, the application of silver dressings may result in considerable cost savings, and a formal cost-benefit analysis could be investigated.