Clinical applications of Bioactive glass S53P4 in bone infections: a systematic review

Treatment of osteomyelitis, in of itself, is challenging but is further complicated by attendant bone infections. The management of bone infection, and bone rebuilding may be assisted by the use of bioactive glasses (BAGs) which have antimicrobial and osteo-stimulative proprieties. However, this clinical application and potential complications associated with BAGs (e.g., BAG S53P4), are poorly defined. The aim of this study is to review the results of clinical research using BAG S53P4 in the treatment of human bone infections.

This review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA statement. The following databases were searched: PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Scopus. We examined electronic databases from 1965 to 2018 using different combinations of the following keywords: "S53P4", "BonAlive", "infection" and "osteomyelitis".

Eight studies were considered which included a total of 276 cases (mean age of 49.3 years). The most frequent pathogen isolated was Staphylococcus aureus. A one-step surgical procedure was performed in 89.85% of cases. Good clinical and radiological outcomes were reported with a mean follow-up of 21.5 months. Twenty-three complications (8.3% of total cases) were described with the recurrence of bone infection as the most common complication (6.15% of total cases).

BAG-S53P4 seems to be a useful bone filler in orthopaedic surgery for osteomyelitis treatment. The attendant clinical results and associated rate of complications associated with BAG S53P4 use are comparable with those of other techniques in the short term. However, long-term follow-up studies are required in order to confirm the longevity of this treatment.