Post-discharge surveillance of surgical site infection is necessary if accurate rates of infection following surgery are to be available. We undertook a prospective study of 376 knee and hip replacements in 366 patients in order to estimate the rate of orthopaedic surgical site infection in the community. The inpatient infection was 3.1% and the post-discharge infection rate was 2.1%. We concluded that the use of telephone interviews of patients to identify the group at highest risk of having a surgical site infection (those who think they have an infection) with rapid follow-up by a professional trained to diagnose infection according to agreed criteria is an effective method of identifying infection after discharge from hospital.

Aims. Smoking is associated with post-operative complications but smokers often under-report the amount they smoke. Our objective was to determine whether a urine dipstick test could be used as a substitute for quantitative cotinine assays to determine smoking status in patients. Patients and Methods. Between September 2013 and July 2014 we conducted a prospective cohort study in which 127 consecutive patients undergoing a planned foot and ankle arthrodesis or osteotomy were included. Patients self-reported their smoking status and were classified as: ‘never smoked’ (61 patients), ‘ex-smoker’ (46 patients), or ‘current smoker’ (20 patients). Urine samples were analysed with cotinine assays and cotinine dipstick tests. Results. There was a high degree of concordance between dipstick and assay results (Kappa coefficient = 0.842, p < 0.001). Compared with the quantitative assay, the dipstick had a sensitivity of 88.9% and a specificity of 97.3%. Patients claiming to have stopped smoking just before surgery had the highest rate of disagreement between reported smoking status and urine testing. Conclusion. Urine cotinine dipstick testing is cheap, fast, reliable, and easy to use. It may be used in place of a quantitative assay as a screening tool for detecting patients who may be smoking. A positive test may be used as a trigger for further assessment and counselling. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:1418–24

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the leading causes of surgical site infection (SSI). Over the past decade there has been an increase in methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). This is a subpopulation of the bacterium with unique resistance and virulence characteristics. Nasal colonisation with either S. aureus or MRSA has been demonstrated to be an important independent risk factor associated with the increasing incidence and severity of SSI after orthopaedic surgery. Furthermore, there is an economic burden related to SSI following orthopaedic surgery, with MRSA-associated SSI leading to longer hospital stays and increased hospital costs. Although there is some controversy about the effectiveness of screening and eradication programmes, the literature suggests that patients should be screened and MRSA-positive patients treated before surgical admission in order to reduce the risk of SSI. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2013;95-B:4–9

The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of screening and successful treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonisation in elective orthopaedic patients on the subsequent risk of developing a surgical site infection (SSI) with MRSA. We screened 5933 elective orthopaedic in-patients for MRSA at pre-operative assessment. Of these, 108 (1.8%) were colonised with MRSA and 90 subsequently underwent surgery. Despite effective eradication therapy, six of these (6.7%) had an SSI within one year of surgery. Among these infections, deep sepsis occurred in four cases (4.4%) and superficial infection in two (2.2%). The responsible organism in four of the six cases was MRSA. Further analysis showed that patients undergoing surgery for joint replacement of the lower limb were at significantly increased risk of an SSI if previously colonised with MRSA. We conclude that previously MRSA-colonised patients undergoing elective surgery are at an increased risk of an SSI compared with other elective patients, and that this risk is significant for those undergoing joint replacement of the lower limb. Furthermore, when an infection occurs, it is likely to be due to MRSA

A retrospective review of MRSA screening showed that of a total of 8911 patients screened pre-operatively between May 1996 and February 2001, 83 (0.9%) had MRSA isolated from one source or another. During the same period, 115 (13.6%) of 844 positive tissue samples taken during surgery grew Staphylococcus aureus. Of these only 1 (0.01%) was reported to be methicillin-resistant (MRSA). However, a total of 366 (43.4%) isolates from tissue samples were reported as coagulase-negative staphylococci (C-NS). Of these, 312 samples were tested for methicillin sensitivity, of which 172 (55.1%) were found to be resistant. Staphylococcus epidermidis is the most prevalent and persistent species found on most skin and mucous membranes, constituting 65% to 90% of all staphylococci. Most isolates in tissue samples were found to be methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococcus (55.1%). Hence, it may be appropriate to undertake screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis in addition to that for MRSA

Aims

The risk to patients and healthcare workers of resuming elective orthopaedic surgery following the peak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has been difficult to quantify. This has prompted governing bodies to adopt a cautious approach that may be impractical and financially unsustainable. The lack of evidence has made it impossible for surgeons to give patients an informed perspective of the consequences of elective surgery in the presence of SARS-CoV-2. This study aims to determine, for the UK population, the probability of a patient being admitted with an undetected SARS-CoV-2 infection and their resulting risk of death; taking into consideration the current disease prevalence, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing, and preassessment pathway.

Aims

The primary aim of this study was to assess the independent association of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on postoperative mortality for patients undergoing orthopaedic and trauma surgery. The secondary aim was to identify factors that were associated with developing COVID-19 during the postoperative period.

Aims

The aim of this paper was to present the clinical features of patients with musculoskeletal sources of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) septicaemia.

Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) complicates between 0.5% and 1.2% primary total hip arthroplasties (THAs) and may have devastating consequences. The traditional assessment of patients suffering from PJI has involved the serological study of inflammatory markers and microbiological analysis of samples obtained from the joint space. Treatment has involved debridement and revision arthroplasty performed in either one or two stages.

We present an update on the burden of PJI, strategies for its diagnosis and treatment, the challenge of resistant organisms and the need for definitive evidence to guide the treatment of PJI after THA.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B(1 Suppl A):27–30.

The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with a seven-step checklist that could help in minimising the risk of PJI. The check list includes strategies that can be implemented pre-operatively such as medical optimisation, and reduction of the bioburden by effective skin preparation or actions taking during surgery such as administration of timely and appropriate antibiotics or blood conservation, and finally implementation of post-operative protocols such as efforts to minimise wound drainage and haematoma formation.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B(1 Suppl A):18–22.

We report the results of six trauma and orthopaedic projects to Kenya in the last three years. The aims are to deliver both a trauma service and teaching within two hospitals; one a district hospital near Mount Kenya in Nanyuki, the other the largest public hospital in Kenya in Mombasa. The Kenya Orthopaedic Project team consists of a wide range of multidisciplinary professionals that allows the experience to be shared across those specialties. A follow-up clinic is held three months after each mission to review the patients. To our knowledge there are no reported outcomes in the literature for similar projects.

A total of 211 operations have been performed and 400 patients seen during the projects. Most cases were fractures of the lower limb; we have been able to follow up 163 patients (77%) who underwent surgical treatment. We reflect on the results so far and discuss potential improvements for future missions.

We have conducted a case-control study over a period of ten years comparing both deep infection with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and colonised cases with a control group.

Risk factors associated with deep infection were vascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, admission to a high-dependency or an intensive-care unit and open wounds. Those for colonisation were institutional care, vascular diseases and dementia. Older age was a risk factor for any MRSA infection. The length of hospital stay was dramatically increased by deep infection.

These risk factors are useful in identifying higher-risk patients who may be more susceptible to MRSA infection. A strategy of early identification and isolation may help to control its spread in trauma units.

We examined the rates of infection and colonisation by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) between January 2003 and May 2004 in order to assess the impact of the introduction of an MRSA policy in October 2003, which required all admissions to be screened. Emergency admissions were treated prophylactically and elective beds ring-fenced. A total of 5594 admissions were cross-referenced with 22 810 microbiology results. The morbidity, mortality and cost of managing MRSA-carrying patients, with a proximal fracture of the femur were compared, in relation to age, gender, American Society of Anaesthesiologists grade and residential status, with a group of matched controls who were MRSA-negative.

In 2004, we screened 1795 of 1796 elective admissions and MRSA was found in 23 (1.3%). We also screened 1122 of 1447 trauma admissions and 43 (3.8%) were carrying MRSA. All ten ward transfers were screened and four (40%) were carriers (all p < 0.001). The incidence of MRSA in trauma patients increased by 2.6% per week of inpatient stay (r = 0.97, p < 0.001). MRSA developed in 2.9% of trauma and 0.2% of elective patients during that admission (p < 0.001). The implementation of the MRSA policy reduced the incidence of MRSA infection by 56% in trauma patients (1.57% in 2003 (17 of 1084) to 0.69% in 2004 (10 of 1447), p = 0.035). Infection with MRSA in elective patients was reduced by 70% (0.56% in 2003 (7 of 1257) to 0.17% in 2004 (3 of 1806), p = 0.06). The cost of preventing one MRSA infection was £3200.

Although colonisation by MRSA did not affect the mortality rate, infection by MRSA more than doubled it. Patients with proximal fractures of the femur infected with MRSA remained in hospital for 50 extra days, had 19 more days of vancomycin treatment and 26 more days of vacuum-assisted closure therapy than the matched controls. These additional costs equated to £13 972 per patient.

From this experience we have been able to describe the epidemiology of MRSA, assess the impact of infection-control measures on MRSA infection rates and determine the morbidity, mortality and economic cost of MRSA carriage on trauma and elective orthopaedic wards.

This prospective five-year study analyses the impact of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on an Irish orthopaedic unit. We identified 318 cases of MRSA, representing 0.76% of all admissions (41 971). A total of 240 (76%) cases were colonised with MRSA, while 120 (37.7%) were infected. Patients were admitted from home (218; 68.6%), nursing homes (72; 22.6%) and other hospitals (28; 8.8%). A total of 115 cases (36.6%) were colonised or infected on admission. Many patients were both colonised and infected at some stage. The length of hospital stay was almost trebled because of the presence of MRSA infection.

Encouragingly, overall infection rates have not risen significantly over the five years of the study despite increased prevalence of MRSA. However, the financial burden of MRSA is increasing, highlighting the need for progress in understanding how to control this resistant pathogen more effectively.

We examined the usefulness of neutrophil CD64 expression in detecting local musculoskeletal infection and the impact of antibiotics on its expression. Of 141 patients suspected of musculoskeletal infection, 46 were confirmed by microbiological culture to be infected and 95 had infection excluded. The median CD64 count of patients with localised infection was 2230 molecules per cell (interquartile range (IQR) 918 to 4592) and that of the patients without infection was 937 molecules per cell (IQR 648 to 1309) (p < 0.001). The level of CD64 correlated with the CRP level in patients with infection, but not in those without infection (r = 0.59, p < 0.01). Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis revealed that CD64 was a good predictor of local infection. When the patients were subdivided into two groups based on the administration of antibiotics at the time of CD64 sampling, the sensitivity for detecting infection was better in those who had not received antibiotics.

These results suggest that measurement of CD64 expression is a useful marker for local musculoskeletal infection.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a newly described infectious disease caused by the SARS coronavirus which attacks the immune system and pulmonary epithelium. It is treated with regular high doses of corticosteroids. Our aim was to determine the relationship between the dosage of steroids and the number and distribution of osteonecrotic lesions in patients treated with steroids during the SARS epidemic in Beijing, China in 2003.

We identified 114 patients for inclusion in the study. Of these, 43 with osteonecrosis received a significantly higher cumulative and peak methylprednisolone-equivalent dose than 71 patients with no osteonecrosis identified by MRI. We confirmed that the number of osteonecrotic lesions was directly related to the dosage of steroids and that a very high dose, a peak dose of more than 200 mg or a cumulative methylprednisolone-equivalent dose of more than 4000 mg, is a significant risk factor for multifocal osteonecrosis with both epiphyseal and diaphyseal lesions. Patients with diaphyseal osteonecrosis received a significantly higher cumulative methylprednisolone-equivalent dose than those with epiphyseal osteonecrosis. Multifocal osteonecrosis should be suspected if a patient is diagnosed with osteonecrosis in the shaft of a long bone.

A series of 14 patients suffering from tuberculosis of the sternum with a mean follow-up of 2.8 years (2 to 3.6) is presented. All were treated with antitubercular therapy: ten with primary therapy, two needed second-line therapy, and two required surgery (debridement). All showed complete healing and no evidence of recurrence at the last follow-up. MRI was useful in making the diagnosis at an early stage because atypical presentations resulting from HIV have become more common. Early adequate treatment with multidrug antitubercular therapy avoided the need for surgery in 12 of our 14 patients.

Clinical, haematological or economic benefits of post-operative blood salvage with autologous blood re-transfusion have yet to be clearly demonstrated for primary total hip replacement. We performed a prospective randomised study to analyse differences in postoperative haemoglobin levels and homologous blood requirements in two groups of patients undergoing primary total hip replacement.

A series of 158 patients was studied. In one group two vacuum drains were used and in the other the ABTrans autologous retransfusion system. A total of 58 patients (76%) in the re-transfusion group received autologous blood. There was no significant difference in the mean post-operative haemoglobin levels in the two groups. There were, however, significantly fewer patients with post-operative haemoglobin values less than 9.0 g/dl and significantly fewer patients who required transfusion of homologous blood in the re-transfusion group. There was also a small overall cost saving in this group.

Limb lengthening by callus distraction and external fixation has a high rate of complications. We describe our experience using an intramedullary nail (Fitbone) which contains a motorised and programmable sliding mechanism for limb lengthening and bone transport. Between 2001 and 2004 we lengthened 13 femora and 11 tibiae in ten patients (seven men and three women) with a mean age of 32 years (21 to 47) using this nail. The indications for operation were short stature in six patients and developmental or acquired disorders in the rest.

The mean lengthening achieved was 40 mm (27 to 60). The mean length of stay in hospital was seven days (5 to 9). The mean healing index was 35 days/cm (18.8 to 70.9). There were no cases of implant-related infection or malunion.

We present seven patients with recurrent haemarthroses after total knee arthroplasty, caused by an inherent platelet function defect. These patients developed painful knee swelling, persistent bleeding and/or wound breakdown, a platelet factor 3 availability defect being identified in all cases. Surgical exploration, with joint debridement, lavage and synovectomy, was performed in four patients who did not improve with conservative therapy. Histopathological examination of synovium revealed a focal synovial reaction with histiocytic infiltration, and occasional foreign-body giant cells. One patient required an early revision because of aseptic loosening of their tibial component. The condition was treated by single-donor platelet transfusions with good results. The diagnosis, management, and relevance of this disorder are discussed.