Acute infection following Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) is a serious complication. It is commonly treated by irrigation and debridement (I&D) with component retention (exchange only the mobile parts of the joint - head and liner). However, the reported re-infection rate with the use of this approach remains high. We are reporting our experience in using single - stage revision arthroplasty in treating acute infection of THA. We hypothesized that the infection control rate after immediate early revision for acute infection of cementless implants is better than has been reported for I&D with exchange of mobile parts. From our infection arthroplasty database, we reviewed the outcome of 19 patients who had an acute infection (within 6 weeks) of cementless THA. Our management strategy includes I&D and single-stage (direct-exchange) revision arthroplasty followed by 6 weeks course of culture specific oral antibiotics.Introduction
Methods
Using general practitioner records, hospital medical notes and through direct telephone conversation with patients, we investigated the accuracy of nine patient-reported complications after elective joint replacement surgery of the hip and knee. A total of 402 post-discharge complications were reported after 8546 elective operations that were undertaken within a three-year period. These were reported by 136 men and 240 women with an overall mean age of 71.8 years (34.3–93.2). A total of 319 (79.4%; 95% confidence interval, 75.4%–83.3%) reported complications were confirmed to be correct. Very high rates of correct reporting were demonstrated for infection (94.5%) and further surgery (100%), whereas the rates of reporting deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarct and stroke were lower (75%–84.2%). Dislocation, periprosthetic fractures and nerve palsy were associated with modest rates of correct reporting (36%–57.1%). More patients who had had knee surgery delivered incorrect reports of dislocation (p = 0.001) and DVT (p = 0.013). Despite these variations in accuracy, it appears that post-operative complications may form part of a larger patient-reported outcome programme for monitoring outcome after elective joint replacement surgery.
The outcomes programme of our institution has been developed from a system first used at Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust 15 years ago. The system was implemented at our institution when it opened in 2004, and has been used to collect data on over 17,000 joint replacement operations so far. A bespoke database is used to collect, analyse and report outcome data. An integrated system allows the collection of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS), patient satisfaction scores, radiological assessment, and medical or surgical complications. Functionality allows the transfer of data from existing clinical management programmes, and the generation of customised letters and questionnaires to send to patients. Analysis of data and report production is fully automated. Data is collected pre-operatively, during the inpatient stay, and post-operatively at 6 weeks, 6, 12 and 24 months. Results are disseminated to the surgeons, the senior management team and the Clinical Governance Committee.Introduction
Methods
