The benefits of cell salvage autotransfusion are well reported. There is a common non-evidenced belief amongst revision arthroplasty surgeons that auto-transfusion is potentially contraindicated in infected revisions.

The aim is to study the immediate and delayed outcomes of using cell saver on patients undergoing PJI surgery.

Prospective cohort service evaluation registered with the local audit department. 20 PJI cases in 18 patients where cell saver was used over a period of 4 years. Intraoperative fluid and tissue samples were taken for culture. Blood culture from salvaged blood pre and post leucodepletion filter were sent for microbiological analysis. Data on type of surgery, blood loss, further allogenic transfusion and SIRS response was collected. Success of infection clearance was assessed using 2019 MSIS ORT. Five patients receiving autologous blood in non-infection cases were used as controls.

Mean age for the PJI group was 67.7 years, 67% female. 11 patients (67%) had 1st stage surgery and 5 (25%) underwent 2nd stage whereas 4 patients had single stage surgery. The mean calculated blood loss was 1398 mls (range 400–3000mls). 6 Patients required further allogenic transfusion. 16 patients received blood via a leuco-depletion filter. The same organism grown from tissues was identified in post-filter blood in 8/17 patients (47%).

2/20 have grown a different organism in post-filtered blood, _P.Acne._

2 patients developed SIRS upon auto-transfusion, however one was thought to be secondary to cementing. The control group had 443 mls mean amount of blood loss and 1 patient developed a SIRS response.

14/20 (70%) patients had successful clearance of infection (tier 1) 2 patients died prior to undergoing 2nd stage.

Using cell saver did not impact main outcome of infection clearance in PJI surgery. We would advocate its routine usage whilst avoiding direct collection of heavily contaminated blood.

The duration of systemic antibiotics following first-stage surgery is contentious. Our Institution's philosophy is to perform an aggressive debridement, high concentration of targeted antibiotics through cement beads and systemic prophylactic antibiotics alone. In the presence of significant soft tissue infection or microbiological diagnostic uncertainty; systemic antibiotics may be prescribed for 5 days whilst awaiting tissue culture results. The aim of this study was to assess the success of our philosophy for two-stage hip revision.

A retrospective review of our Institution's prospective database was performed to identify all intended two-stage hip revision procedures for PJI. All patients had a confirmed PJI as per MSIS 2013 criteria, minimum 5-years follow up and outcomes according to the MSIS working group outcome-reporting tool; then grouped into “successful” or “unsuccessful” (suppressive antibiotics, further revision for infection, death within 1 year).

383 intended two-stage hip revisions were identified; of which 299 met our inclusion criteria, in 289 patients (6 repeat ipsilateral two-stage, 4 bilateral two-stage). Median follow up was 10.7 years (IQR 6.3 – 15.0). 258 (86%) patients proceeded to 2^nd stage surgery. 91% success rate was observed for those patients who underwent reimplantation, although dropping to 86% when including the patients who did not proceed to second stage. The median duration of post-operative systemic antibiotics was 5 days (IQR 5–9). No significant difference was observed in patients who received either; < / = 48 hours (86%; n=70) compared to > 48 hours antibiotics (86%; n=229; p=0.96) or </= 5 days of antibiotics (88%; n=202) compared to > 5 days antibiotics (82%; p=0.38). A significant majority had gram-positive (88%) infection with 30% being polymicrobial. Greater success rates were observed with two-stage exchange or gram-positive PJI (86%); than for gram-negative PJI (81%) and polymicrobial infection (74%) (p=0.36). Fungal PJI was observed to have a significantly reduced rate of success (n=3; 33%; p=0.03).

Aggressive surgical debridement with high concentration, targeted local antibiotic delivery at time of first stage to manage PJI of the hip provides a high rate of success, responsible antibiotic stewardship and reduced hospital costs.

Revision total hip arthroplasty (rTHA) can be complex and associated with significant cost, with an increasing burden within the UK and globally. Regional rTHA networks have been proposed aiming to improve outcomes, reduce re-revisions and therefore costs. The aim of this study was to accurately quantify the cost and reimbursement for the rTHA service and to assess the financial impact of case complexity at a tertiary referral centre within the NHS.

A retrospective analysis of all revision hip procedures was performed over two consecutive financial years (2018–2020). Cases were classified according to the Revision Hip Complexity Classification (RHCC) and by mode of failure; infected or non-infected. Patients of ASA grade of 3 or greater or BMI over 40 are considered “high-risk” by the RHCC. Costs were calculated using PLICS and remuneration based on the HRG data. The primary outcome was the financial difference between tariff and cost per episode per patient. Comparisons between groups were analysed using analysis of variance and two-tailed unpaired t-test.

199 revision episodes were identified in 168 patients: 25 (13%) least complex revisions (H1), 110 (55%) complex revisions (H2) and 64 (32%) most complex revisions (H3). 76 (38%) cases were due to infection. 78 (39%) of patients were in the “high-risk” group. Median length of stay increased with case complexity from 4, to 6 to 8 days (p=0.17) and significantly for revisions performed for infection (9 vs 5 days; p=0.01). Cost per episode increased significantly between complexity groups (p=0.0002) and for infected revisions (p=0.003). All groups demonstrated a mean deficit, but this significantly increased with revision complexity (£301, £1,820 and £4,757 per case; p=0.02) and for infected failure (£4,023 vs £1,679; p=0.02). The total deficit to the trust for the two-years was £512,202.

Current NHS reimbursement for rTHA is inadequate and should be more closely aligned to complexity. An increase in the most complex rTHA at major revision centres (MRC) will likely place a greater financial burden on these units.

Background

An extended trochanteric osteotomy (ETO) is a widely used approach for revision hip arthroplasty. Following an ETO it is common practice to use a long stemmed femoral prosthesis at the second stage to bypass the osteotomy. We propose that at the second stage, if the osteotomy has united, it is appropriate to use a standard length prosthesis, which preserves bone stock for any future revisions.