Is Preoperative Staphylococcus aureus Screening and Decolonization Effective at Reducing Surgical Site Infection in Patients Undergoing Orthopedic Surgery? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With a Special Focus on Elective Total Joint Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is a major pathogen implicated in orthopedic infections worldwide. Preoperative decolonization has been promoted but different strategies present mixed results. Thus, the goals of this study are to determine (1) whether S aureus screening and/or decolonization is effective at reducing surgical site infection in orthopedic surgery, (2) with a special focus on elective total joint arthroplasty (TJA), and (3) which preoperative S aureus screening/treatment strategy is most cost-effective for TJA. METHODS: PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, and Cochrane databases were searched on January 1, 2020, using a systematic strategy. We included papers with data comparing surgical site infection and periprosthetic joint infection rate in orthopedic surgery and/or elective total hip and knee arthroplasty patients before/after S aureus screening and/or decolonization protocol and papers evaluating the cost-effectiveness of different S aureus screening/treatment strategies. RESULTS: A total of 1260 papers were screened, and 32 papers were ultimately included. Results showed an increased risk of developing any infection (relative risk [RR] = 1.71 ± 0.16) and S aureus infection (RR = 2.79 ± 0.45) after orthopedic surgery without previous nares and whole-body decolonization. Focusing exclusively on elective TJA, there was an increased risk of developing any infection (RR = 1.70 ± 0.17) and S aureus infection (RR = 2.18 ± 0.41) if no decolonization is performed. All strategies appeared to be cost-effective, although universal decolonization without screening seemed to be the most advantageous. CONCLUSION: Preoperative S aureus screening/decolonization protocol lowered the risk of infection after elective orthopedic and TJA surgeries. However, further studies are needed to determine optimal clinical and cost-effective methodologies.