Intra-articular Vancomycin Reduces Prosthetic Infection in Primary Hip and Knee Arthroplasty

Intravenous antibiotic infusion has been the standard prophylaxis for total joint arthroplasty surgery. However, infection rates still occur at 1%-2% in many series. Single-dose intra-articular antibiotics (IAAs) present a safe and potentially more effective prophylactic regime in total joint arthroplasty. This study aimed to assess the outcomes of a single-dose IAA injection on PJI rates in a single surgeon series of hip and knee arthroplasty.

We reviewed the data of all patients operated on for a primary hip or knee replacement from 2010 to 2021. From January 2018, 1 gm of vancomycin in 10 ml of saline was injected into every total joint replacement after fascial closure. A comparison was made with PJI referencing the Australian National Joint Replacement Registry data on revision for the 2 periods: 2010-2017 and 2018-2021.

During the period without IAA (2010-2017) for TKR, 6 of 489 (1.2%), and for THR, 5 of 694 (0.7%) had PJI requiring revision surgery. In the period with IAA (2018-2021) for TKR, 0 of 214 (0%, P = .11), and for THR, 1 of 517 (0.2%, P = .19) PJI required revision surgery, but the overall incidence of PJI for TKR and THR was significantly reduced (P = .03).

A single dose of intra-articular vancomycin 1 gm injected into the total joint replacement following fascial closure reduced the incidence of deep PJI requiring a revision surgery in a single-surgeon series. These results demonstrate significant benefits to this technique which merit further larger trials.