Background Treatment of hip fractures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed unique challenges for the management of COVID-19-infected patients and the maintenance of standards of care. The primary endpoint of this study is to compare the mortality rate at 1 month after surgery in symptomatic COVID-positive patients with that of asymptomatic patients. A secondary endpoint of the study is to evaluate, in the two groups of patients, mortality at 1 month on the basis of type of fracture and type of surgical treatment. Materials and methods For this retrospective multicentre study, we reviewed the medical records of patients hospitalised for proximal femur fracture at 14 hospitals in Northern Italy. Two groups were formed: COVID-19-positive patients (C+ group) presented symptoms, had a positive swab for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and received treatment for COVID-19; COVID-19-negative patients (C− group) were asymptomatic and tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. The two groups were compared for differences in time to surgery, survival rate and complications rate. The follow-up period was 1 month. Results Of the 1390 patients admitted for acute care for any reason, 477 had a proximal femur fracture; 53 were C+ but only 12/53 were diagnosed as such at admission. The mean age was > 80 years, and the mean American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score was 3 in both groups. There was no substantial difference in time to surgery (on average, 2.3 days for the C+ group and 2.8 for the C− group). As expected, a higher mortality rate was recorded for the C+ group but not associated with the type of hip fracture or treatment. No correlation was found between early treatment (< 48 h to surgery) and better outcome in the C+ group. Conclusions Hip fracture in COVID-19-positive patients accounted for 11% of the total. On average, the time to surgery was > 48 h, which reflects the difficulty of maintaining normal workflow during a medical emergency such as the present pandemic and notwithstanding the suspension of non-urgent procedures. Hip fracture was associated with a higher 30-day mortality rate in COVID-19-positive patients than in COVID-19-negative patients. This fact should be considered when communicating with patients and/or their family. Our data suggest no substantial difference in hip fracture management between patients with or without COVID-19 infection. In this sample, the COVID-19-positive patients were generally asymptomatic at admission; therefore, routine screening is recommended. Level of evidence Therapeutic study, level 4.

We describe a modified surgical technique developed to enhance the classical irrigation and debridement procedure to improve the possibilities of retaining an infected total knee arthroplasty. This technique, debridement antibiotic pearls and retention of the implant (DAPRI), aims to remove the intra-articular biofilm allowing a higher and prolonged local antibiotic concentration using calcium sulfate beads. The combination of three different surgical techniques (methylene blue staining, argon beam electrical stimulation, and chlorhexidine gluconate brushing) might enhance the identification, disruption, and finally removal of the bacterial biofilm, which is the main responsible of antibiotics and antibodies resistance. The DAPRI technique might represent a safe and more conservative treatment for acute and early hematogenous periprosthetic joint infection.

Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is one of the most challenging complications a surgeon has to face after prosthetic replacement of a joint and one of the most devastating complications for the patient. During the 2018 International Consensus Meeting (ICM) in Philadelphia a numerical diagnostic tool was proposed. Contraindications to single stage revision include significant soft tissue injury with the inability to provide soft tissue cover, the presence of unknown or multi resistant organisms, lack of access to appropriate antibiotics or lack of appropriate expertise. Two stage revision surgery is indicated in these situations. Insall et al. described the surgical two-stage prosthetic revision technique in 1983: the in situ prosthesis is removed, a thorough debridement of bone and soft tissue is performed, an interval spacer is inserted, antibiotics administered. The 2 nd stage of definitive reconstruction is performed once the infection is deemed to have resolved. The interval between stages can range from 6 weeks to several months. PJI are very challenging for every surgeon skilled in prosthetic surgery. It’s necessary to make an exact preoperative diagnosis and to treat them with the proper technique. Further studies are needed to establish the perfect timing between the two stages, the duration of the antibiotic therapy and to standardize the diagnostic chart.

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