Low Post-Arthroplasty Infection Rate is Possible in Developing Countries: Long-Term Experience of Local Vancomycin Use From A High-Volume Tertiary Knee Center in Iran

Abstract

Background: Significant research has been carried out for prevention and also early detection of post-TKA infections. Regarding prevention, utilizing intrawound vancomycin powder in TKA surgery has yielded rather contrasting results in the pertinent literature. Regarding early detection, CDC criteria, although effective in general, are not specifically designed for post-TKA infections. Here, we present a 7-year experience of primary TKA in a high-volume tertiary knee center in Iran, during which intrawound vancomycin powder was used as a routine practice at the end of TKA surgeries. Also, new criteriae are proposed to detect suspected superficial post-TKA infections. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of primary total knee arthroplasties performed in a tertiary knee center, from March 2011 to December 2018, by a single senior knee surgeon. All patients with follow-up periods of less than one year were excluded from the study. All patient received vancomycin (powder, 1gr) before water-tight closure of the joint capsule. Results: Altogether, 1710 patients were included in the study. Patients were mostly women (male to female ratio: 1 to 4), with a mean age of 64.99 (SD=11.49) years. The overall infection rate was 2.16% (37 of 1710 patients), including 5 periprosthetic deep joint infections and 32 suspected superficial wound infections. Of the 32 suspected superficial infections that were treated with a one-week course of oral antibiotics, all reported disappearance of symptoms, but 2 cases returned with late deep infection. All in all, 7 patients (0.41%) underwent two-stage knee arthroplasty due to deep joint infections. Conclusions: Our experience shows that by utilizing intrawound vancomycin for 7 years as a routine practice along with other measures, we were able to reach relatively low rates of deep post-TKA infections. Howbeit, randomized controlled trials are required to clarify the effect of intrawound vancomycin on post-TKA infection rate.