Knee Surg Relat Res.  2018 Jun;30(2):142-146. 10.5792/ksrr.17.054.

Efficacy of Taurolidine Irrigation in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty

• Woo YH
• Jeong JS
• Kim OG
• Lee IS

• KMID: 2413633
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5792/ksrr.17.054

Abstract

PURPOSE
Taurolidine is an antimicrobial agent that was originally used in the local treatment of peritonitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of taurolidine irrigation in primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
All patients who underwent TKA at our institute from January 2015 to March 2017 were eligible. There were 300 patients in the taurolidine irrigation group and 300 patients in the control group. The patients in the taurolidine irrigation group were irrigated after implantation with a mix of 250 mL of taurolidine and 750 mL of normal saline. The patients in the control group were not irrigated after implantation. We compared postoperative C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and infection rate between groups.
RESULTS
The taurolidine irrigation group had a significantly lower CRP (5.39 mg/dL vs. 7.55 mg/dL; p<0.001) and ESR (53.21 mm/hr vs. 58.74 mm/hr; p=0.003) on postoperative day 3 after TKA, as compared with the control group. However, there was no difference between the two groups on postoperative days 6, 13, and 20. Periprosthetic joint infection occurred in one patient in the taurolidine irrigation group.
CONCLUSIONS
We believe that it is not necessary to use taurolidine for patients who undergo primary TKA.

Keyword

Knee; Infection; Arthroplasty; Taurolidine; C-reactive protein

MeSH Terms

Arthroplasty
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee*
Blood Sedimentation
C-Reactive Protein
Humans
Joints
Knee
Peritonitis
C-Reactive Protein