Reduced prosthetic joint infection rates from 1.8% to 0%
Reduced prosthetic joint infection rates with use of supplemental intraoperative air decontamination:
A retrospective cohort study.
Background
Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a common complication after joint arthroplasty surgery with significant economic and human costs. Air contamination is a common but underappreciated source of bacteria etiologic to PJI.
Objective
To determine whether supplemental intraoperative air decontamination reduced the rate of PJI in arthroplasty surgery.
Results & Conclusion
A total of five cases met the criteria for PJI (1.0%). All five cases were recorded during the study period when standard air treatment was used. No further cases of PJI were observed after the institution of the supplemental air decontamination. This was statistically significant overall (p < 0.045). Although PJI etiology is multifactorial in nature, this study found that the use of intraoperative air decontamination significantly reduced overall rates of PJI.
