Compassionate Use of Cefiderocol to Treat a Case of Prosthetic Joint Infection Due to Extensively Drug-Resistant Enterobacter hormaechei.

We report the case of a 67-year old man with a right knee prosthetic joint infection due to extensively drug-resistant Enterobacter hormaechei. The resistance phenotype was due to the overproduction of the intrinsic cephalosporinase (ACT-5) associated with the production of three acquired ß-lactamases (CTX-M-15, TEM-1B and OXA-1), and a putative membrane decreased permeability. He was first treated with colistin-tigecyclin due to adverse drug reactions; treatment was switched to cefiderocol for a 12-week antibiotic duration, with a favorable outcome.

Treatment of knee flexion contracture due to central nervous system disorders in adults.

BACKGROUND: Studies concerning adult patients with spastic flexion contracture of the knee are rare. Such patients frequently have cutaneous and vascular complications as well as recurrence of the contracture after treatment. We present a strategy consisting of simultaneous correction of all deformities of both lower limbs, distal hamstring releases, and application of femorotibial external fixation when extension of the knee is limited by excessive posterior soft-tissue tension. METHODS: A consecutive series of fifty-nine patients (ninety-seven knees) between the ages of twenty-one and seventy-seven years received surgical treatment for a flexion contracture of the knee secondary to neurological impairment. The flexion contracture was bilateral in thirty-eight patients. Preoperatively, the mean flexion contracture angle was 69 degrees and the mean passive range of motion was 61 degrees. The contracture was corrected, through medial and lateral approaches, with distal hamstring lengthening. A posterior capsulotomy was performed in thirty-five knees. Full extension of thirty-four knees was achieved intraoperatively. In seventy-seven knees, partial correction was maintained with a unilateral external fixator, and passive and active mobilization was performed four times daily after temporary removal of the spanning external fixator rod. RESULTS: At the time of final follow-up, ranging from one to five years postoperatively, the mean residual flexion contracture was 6.2 degrees. Forty-five knees had complete extension, and thirty-nine knees had a residual flexion contracture of <10 degrees. No recurrence of the flexion contracture or instability was noted in any knee at the time of follow-up. There were four cutaneous complications but no vascular or neurological complications. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that our surgical strategy for correction of fixed knee flexion contracture in adult patients is safe and effective. The correction improves nursing care and sitting posture, facilitating the upright position of patients who are unable to walk, and improves walking ability for patients who are able to walk.

Venous thromboembolism is rare with a multimodal prophylaxis protocol after total hip arthroplasty.

UNLABELLED: We evaluated the safety and efficacy of a multimodal approach for prophylaxis of thromboembolism after total hip arthroplasty, which includes preoperative discontinuation of procoagulant medication; autologous blood donation; hypotensive epidural anesthesia; intravenous administration of heparin during surgery and before femoral preparation; aspiration of intramedullary contents; pneumatic compression; knee-high elastic stockings; and early mobilization and chemoprophylaxis for 4 to 6 weeks (aspirin 83%; warfarin 17%). One thousand nine hundred forty-seven consecutive, nonselected patients (2032 total hip arthroplasties) who received this multimodal prophylaxis were observed prospectively for 3 months. The incidence of asymptomatic deep vein thrombosis assessed by ultrasound in the first 171 patients was 6.4%. The incidence of clinical deep vein thrombosis in the subsequent 1776 patients was 2.5%. Symptomatic pulmonary embolism occurred in 0.6% (12 of 1947; nine in patients receiving aspirin and three in patients receiving Coumadin), none of them fatal. One patient died of a myocardial infarct. This multimodal approach is safe and efficacious and compares favorably with those reported in the literature and with our historic controls. If these preventive measures are strictly observed during the perioperative period, postoperative chemoprophylaxis does not need to be aggressive in the patient without predisposing factors. Our low rate of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism do not support routine anticoagulation prophylaxis with drugs that increase risk of bleeding. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic study, Level IV (case series). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.