Deep Infection after Total Knee Arthroplasty

Bae, Dae Kyung; Kim, Hee Seon

Abstract

PURPOSE
To analyze the infection rate and its influencing factors in total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and to evaluate the results of various treatment methods for infected TKA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 1, 284 patients, 1, 892 TKAs, we analyzed the infection rate (overall, according to the age, sex, date, initial diagnosis, prosthesis type, with or without bone cement and antibiotic impregnated bone cement) and the results according to treatment method. RESULTS: Deep infection occurred in eighteen knees (0.95%); males two (1.1%) of 180, females in sixteen (0.9%) of 1, 712; degenerative osteoarthritis in fifteen (1.03%) of 1, 452, rheumatoid arthritis in two (1.1%) of 328; antibiotic-impregnated cemented TKAs in three (0.2%) of 1, 243, cemented TKAs without using antibiotics in fifteen (4.5%) of 337, noncemented TKAs in two (0.64%) of 312. One of the seven two-stage reimplantations relapsed at a postoperative two years and nine months and then fused. CONCLUSION: The overall infection rate was 0.95%. No statistically significant difference was observed between the incidence of infection according to sex, prosthesis type or initial diagnosis (p>0.01). Infection rate was significantly lower in antibiotic-impregnated cemented TKAs (p<0.01). There was only one recurrence of infection after reimplantation or arthrodesis.