Aims. A fracture of the hip is the most common serious orthopaedic injury, and surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most significant complications, resulting in increased mortality, prolonged hospital stay and often the need for further surgery. Our aim was to determine whether high dose dual antibiotic impregnated bone cement decreases the rate of infection. Patients and Methods. A quasi-randomised study of 848 patients with an intracapsular fracture of the hip was conducted in one large teaching hospital on two sites. All were treated with a hemiarthroplasty. A total of 448 patients received low dose single-antibiotic impregnated cement (control group) and 400 patients received high dose dual-antibiotic impregnated cement (intervention group). The primary outcome measure was deep SSI at one year after surgery. Results. The rate of deep SSI was 3.5% in the control group and 1.1% in the intervention group (p = 0.041; logistic regression adjusting for age and gender). The overall rate of non-infective surgical complications did not differ between the two groups (unadjusted chi-squared test; p > 0.999). Conclusion. The use of high dose dual-antibiotic impregnated cement in these patients significantly reduces the rate of SSI compared with standard low dose single antibiotic loaded bone cement. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:1534–1541

Aims. Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication of surgery with an incidence of about 1% in the United Kingdom. Sutures can lead to the development of a SSI, as micro-organisms can colonize the suture as it is implanted. Triclosan-coated sutures, being antimicrobical, were developed to reduce the rate of SSI. Our aim was to assess whether triclosan-coated sutures cause a reduction in SSIs following arthroplasty of the hip and knee. Patients and Methods. This two-arm, parallel, double-blinded study involved 2546 patients undergoing elective total hip (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) at three hospitals. A total of 1323 were quasi-randomized to a standard suture group, and 1223 being quasi-randomized to the triclosan-coated suture group. The primary endpoint was the rate of SSI at 30 days postoperatively. Results. The baseline characteristics of age, gender and comorbidities were well matched in the two groups. The rates of superficial SSI were 0.8% in the control group and 0.7% in the intervention group (p = 0.651), and when deep and superficial SSIs were combined the rates were 2.5% and 1.8 (p = 0.266). The length of stay in hospital and the rates of medical complications did not differ significantly between the groups (p = 1.000). Conclusion. This trial provided no evidence that the use of triclosan-coated sutures at THA and TKA leads to a reduction in the rate of SSI. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:296–302

Aims

The aim of this study was to investigate whether on-demand removal (ODR) is noninferior to routine removal (RR) of syndesmotic screws regarding functional outcome.