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. 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.Aims
Patients and Methods
