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: Utilizing intrawound vancomycin powder in TKA surgery has yielded rather contrasting results in the current literature. Furthermore, CDC criteria, although effective in general, are not specifically designed for post-TKA infections. Here, we present a 7-year experience of vancomycin use in primary TKA in a high-volume tertiary knee center in Iran. Also, new criteria 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 2007 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. Since March 2011, all patient received vancomycin (powder, 1gr) before water-tight closure of the joint capsule. Comparison was made between this group and historical control subjects (operated from March 2007 to March 2011). Results: Altogether, 2024 patients were included in the study. The vancomycin and the control group included 1710 and 314 cases respectively. Patients were mostly women (male to female ratio: 1 to 4), with a mean age of 65.20 (SD=10.83) years. In the vancomycin group, the rate of suspected SII (1.87%) and PJI (0.41%) was significantly lower than the control group (P= 0.002). Conclusions: Our experience shows that by utilizing intrawound vancomycin 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.