Fluid collection bags pose a threat for bacterial contamination in primary total hip arthroplasty: a prospective, internally controlled, non-blinded trial.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical equipment, and especially the so-called 'splash basins' that are used intraoperatively, are a potential source of bacterial contamination in primary total hip arthroplasty (THA). With this risk in mind, many commercially available draping kits include plastic bags that can be used to collect fluid or to temporarily store instruments. Following this rationale, we hypothesised that first: the fluid collection bags are a potential reservoir of bacteria and second: there is a time dependency for bacterial contamination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After ethics approval, we investigated in a prospective, internally controlled, non-blinded trial 43 patients who received primary THA. At the beginning of the surgery, we took deep, representative, intracapsular tissue samples, which served as negative controls. At the end of surgery, tissue samples were taken from the bottom of the 'fluid collection bag' for microbiological analysis. RESULTS: All 86 control samples were negative. Out of the samples taken from the bags, a pathogen could be detected in four patients (9.3%). All pathogens were detected after a surgery time lasting longer than 90 min. CONCLUSION: We were able to show that fluid collection bags are a potential reservoir for bacteria in THA when surgery time was greater than a 90-min threshold. Our data suggest that the risks from fluid collection bags outweigh the advantages of using them. Therefore, we recommend against the use of fluid collection bags intraoperatively in primary THA.

Staphylococcus aureus versus Staphylococcus epidermidis in periprosthetic joint infection-Outcome analysis of methicillin-resistant versus methicillin-susceptible strains.

Periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) are a major complication in total joint arthroplasty. Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci are known to cause the majority of all PJIs. This study aimed to analyze the eradication rates of S. aureus and S. epidermidis with methicillin susceptibility and methicillin resistance in a 2-stage therapy algorithm. Seventy-four patients with PJI caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRSE), methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), and methicillin-susceptible coagulase-negative staphylococci (MSSE) were included, and the outcome was analyzed retrospectively. After a minimal follow-up of 2 years, n = 56 patients (75.7%) were definitively free of infection. The analysis revealed significant differences between the groups, with eradication rates as follows: MSSA (92.6%), MSSE (95.2%), MRSA (80%), and MRSE (54.2%). MRSE showed a significantly lower rate of patients graded as "definitively free of infection" as compared to patients with infections caused by MSSA, MSSE, and MRSA.