With an ongoing increase in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedural volume, there is an increased demand to improve surgical techniques to achieve ideal outcomes. Considerations of how to improve post-operative outcomes have included preservation of the infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP). Although this structure is commonly resected during TKA procedures, there is inconsistency in the literature and among surgeons regarding whether resection or preservation of the IPFP should be achieved. Additionally, information about how surgical handling of the IPFP influences outcomes is variable. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the influence of IPFP resection and preservation on post-operative flexion, pain, Insall-Salvati Ratio (ISR), Knee Society Score (KSS), patellar tendon length (PTL), and satisfaction in primary TKA. A systematic literature search was performed to retrieve all reports that evaluated IPFP resection or preservation during total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The following databases were queried: PubMed, EBSCO host, and SCOPUS, resulting in 488 unique reports. Two reviewers independently reviewed the studies for eligibility based on pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 11 studies were identified for final analysis. Patient demographics, type of surgical intervention, follow-up duration, and clinical outcome measures were collected and further analyzed. This systematic review reported on 11,996 total cases. Complete resection was implemented in 3,723 cases (31%), partial resection in 5,458 cases (45.5%), and preservation of the IPFP occurred in 2,815 cases (23.5%). Clinical outcome measures included patellar tendon length (PTL) (5 studies), knee flexion (4 studies), pain (6 studies), Knee Society Score (KSS) (3 studies), Insall-Salvati Ratio (ISR) (3 studies), and patient satisfaction (1 study).Introduction
Methods
Antibiotic-impregnated bone cement (AIBC) has been used for decades to treat and prevent post-operative infections in joint arthroplasty. Local delivery of antibiotics may theoretically have a bactericidal effect, however evidence supporting this is controversial and literature suggests its prophylactic use in primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is seldom justified. With evolving standards of care, historical data is no longer relevant in addressing the efficacy of AIBC in the contemporary TKA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate outcomes following primary TKA using AIBC and regular non-AIBC by comparing rates of surgical site infection (SSI) and prosthetic joint infection (PJI). A retrospective review was conducted of all cemented primary TKA procedures from a large institutional database between January 1, 2015 and December 31st, 2016. This identified 6,073 cases, n=2,613 in which AIBC was used and n=3,460 cases using bone cement without antibiotics. Patients were stratified into low risk and high-risk groups based on age (>65 years), BMI (>40), and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI; >3). Medical records were reviewed for diagnoses of SSI (skin and superficial wound infections) and PJI (deep joint infections requiring surgery) over a 2-year postoperative period. Univariate analysis and multivariate regression models were used to ascertain the effects of cement type, patient factors (age, gender, BMI, CCI), operative time, and length of stay on infection rates. Additionally, mixed models (adjusted for gender, age, race, BMI, and CCI) were built to account for surgeon variability.Introduction
Methods
The diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is difficult and requires a battery of tests and clinical findings. The purpose of this review is to summarize all current evidence for common and new serum biomarkers utilized in the diagnosis of PJI. We searched two literature databases, using terms that encompass all hip and knee arthroplasty procedures, as well as PJI and statistical terms reflecting diagnostic parameters. The findings are summarized as a narrative review.Objectives
Methods