Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Published on: July 5, 2011
The value of ring-fenced beds in elective lower limb arthroplasty
Matthew Green1, Eleanor Tung1, Oday Al-Dadah2
1Senior House Officer, Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, South Tyneside District Hospital, South Shields NE34 0PL.
Background:
Infection is a serious complication of prosthetic joint arthroplasty, associated with high rates of morbidity resulting in further surgical intervention and prolonged inpatient hospital admission. Rates of prosthetic joint infection have been reported as 1.5-2.5% following lower limb arthroplasty. This study compared infection rates in patients receiving primary hip and knee joint replacements before and after implementation of ring-fenced beds.
Methods:
Retrospective study of all patients undergoing primary total hip replacement and total knee replacement from April 2013 to February 2014. Group 1 included pre-ring-fencing patients, group 2 included post-ring-fencing patients.
Results:
The overall infection rate pre-ring-fencing was 6.3% (n=8). This reduced to 2.7% (n=3) post-ring-fencing. The mean inpatient length of stay for group 1 was 6 days vs 4 days for group 2.
Conclusions:
Ring-fencing beds for patients undergoing elective lower limb arthroplasty significantly reduced rates of prosthetic joint infection and inpatient length of stay.
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