Two-Stage Debridement With Prosthesis Retention for Acute Periprosthetic Joint Infections.

BACKGROUND: Historically, infection control rates with debridement and component retention have been poor in the management of acute prosthetic joint infections. We previously described a 2-stage debridement with prosthesis retention protocol for acute periprosthetic joint infection and reported a 90% success rate in a sample of 20 patients. METHODS: A retrospective review of 83 patients who underwent a 2-stage debridement with implant retention with a minimum 1-year follow-up was performed. Patient data were primarily analyzed to determine infection control rates. Infections were considered controlled when patients had not undergone a reoperation for infection, and demonstrated lack of any clinical signs or symptoms of infection (a well healed wound, diminishing swelling and warmth, absence of erythema, improvement in baseline pain symptoms) A secondary goal of this study was to examine the effects of symptom duration on infection control rate. RESULTS: Average patient follow-up was 41.8 months (range 12-171) for all patients. The overall protocol success rate was 86.7% (72/83): 82.9% in hips and 89.6% in knees. Additionally, protocol success was observed in 45 of 48 primary joints (93.8%) and 27 of 35 (77.1%) revision joints (P = .046). Average time from onset of symptoms to surgery was 6.2 days for successfully treated patients (range 0-27 days) compared to 10.7 days for those who failed treatment (range 1-28 days, P = .070). CONCLUSION: This 2-stage retention protocol resulted in a higher likelihood of infection control compared to prior reports of single stage debridement and modular part exchange.