Aims

As an alternative to external fixators, intramedullary lengthening nails (ILNs) can be employed for distraction osteogenesis. While previous studies have demonstrated that typical complications of external devices, such as soft-tissue tethering, and pin site infection can be avoided with ILNs, there is a lack of studies that exclusively investigated tibial distraction osteogenesis with motorized ILNs inserted via an antegrade approach.

Bactericidal levels of antibiotics are difficult to achieve in infected total joint arthroplasty when intravenous antibiotics or antibiotic-loaded cement spacers are used, but intra-articular (IA) delivery of antibiotics has been effective in several studies. This paper describes a protocol for IA delivery of antibiotics in infected knee arthroplasty, and summarises the results of a pharmacokinetic study and two clinical follow-up studies of especially difficult groups: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and failed two-stage revision. In the pharmacokinetic study, the mean synovial vancomycin peak level was 9242 (3956 to 32 150; sd 7608 μg/mL) among the 11 patients studied. Serum trough level ranged from 4.2 to 25.2 μg/mL (mean, 12.3 μg/mL; average of 9.6% of the joint trough value), which exceeded minimal inhibitory concentration. The success rate exceeded 95% in the two clinical groups. IA delivery of antibiotics is shown to be safe and effective, and is now the first option for treatment of infected total joint arthroplasty in our institution.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B(1 Suppl A):31–6.

Non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection of the musculoskeletal tissue is a rare disease. An early and accurate diagnosis is often difficult because of the indolent clinical course and difficulty of isolating pathogens. Our goal was to determine the clinical features of musculoskeletal NTM infection and to present the treatment outcomes. A total of 29 patients (nine females, 20 males between 34 and 85 years old, mean age 61.7 years; 34 to 85) with NTM infection of the musculoskeletal system between 1998 to 2011 were identified and their treatment retrospectively analysed. Microbiological studies demonstrated NTM in 29 patients: the isolates were Mycobacterium intracellulare in six patients, M. fortuitum in three, M. abscessus in two and M. marinum in one. In the remaining patients we failed to identify the species. The involved sites were the hand/wrist in nine patients the knee in five patients, spine in four patients, foot in two patients, elbow in two patients, shoulder in one, ankle in two patients, leg in three patients and multiple in one patient. The mean interval between the appearance of symptoms and diagnosis was 20.8 months (1.5 to 180). All patients underwent surgical treatment and antimicrobial medication according to our protocol for chronic musculoskeletal infection: 20 patients had NTM-specific medication and nine had conventional antimicrobial therapy. At the final follow-up 22 patients were cured, three failed to respond to treatment and four were lost to follow-up. Identifying these diseases due the initial non-specific presentation can be difficult. Treatment consists of surgical intervention and adequate antimicrobial therapy, which can result in satisfactory outcomes.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2014;96-B:1561–5.

There has been an in increase in the availability of effective biological agents for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis as well as a shift towards early diagnosis and management of the inflammatory process. This article explores the impact this may have on the place of orthopaedic surgery in the management of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2014;96-B:1287–9

The Control of Infection Committee at a specialist orthopaedic hospital prospectively collected data on all episodes of bacteriologically-proven deep infection arising after primary hip and knee replacements over a 15-year period from 1987 to 2001.

There were 10 735 patients who underwent primary hip or knee replacement. In 34 of 5947 hip replacements (0.57%) and 41 of 4788 knee replacements (0.86%) a deep infection developed. The most common infecting micro-organism was coagulase-negative staphylococcus, followed by Staphylococcus aureus, enterococci and streptococci. Of the infecting organisms, 72% were sensitive to routine prophylactic antimicrobial agents.

Of the infections, 29% (22) arose in the first three months following surgery, 35% between three months and one year (26), and 36% (27) after one year. Most cases were detected early and treated aggressively, with eradication of the infection in 96% (72). There was no significant change in the infection rate or type of infecting micro-organism over the course of this study.

These results set a benchmark, and importantly emphasise that only 64% of peri-prosthetic infections arise within one year of surgery. These results also illustrate the advantages of conducting joint replacement surgery in the isolation of a specialist hospital.

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