[Total prosthetic knee and hip joint infection. Descriptive epidemiology, therapeutics and evolution in a secondary hospital during ten years].
OBJECTIVE
Epidemiological description, retrospective in its classification, evolution and therapeutics of total prosthesis knee and hip infected among the arthoplasties made between 1st of January 1994 and 31st of December 2003 in our hospital.


RESULTS
The global infection rate was 2.4% (confidence interval of 95% [CI 95%], 1.6%-3.2%) over 40 cases in 1,666 joint implants. The average age +/- standard deviation (SD) was 69.5 years old +/- 5.1 years, mainly in women (67.5%). The most common location was the knee, 31 cases (77.5%). In 90.0% of the patients the aetiology was identified: 64,0% were gram-positive cocci (plasmacoagulase-negative staphylococci, and Staphylococcus aureus); 14.0% were gram-negative bacilli and mixed flora (11.0%). Acute infections were found in most of the cases (45,0%). The joint replacement had a healing rate of 66.7% in the first replacement and of 83.3% in the second replacement.


CONCLUSIONS
The gram-positive cocci are the main microorganisms in these infections. More extensive studies about multiple aspects are necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the different surgical techniques, the new antibiotics and the combined antibiotic therapies.
Jover Sáenz
A
A
Unidad Funcional para el control de la Infección Nosocomial, Servicios de Medicina, Hospital Universitario Arnau de Vilanova, Alcalde Rovira Roure 80, 25198 Lleida. ajover@arnau.scs.es
Barcenilla Gaite
F
F
Torres Puig Gros
J
J
Mas Atance
J
J
Garrido Calvo
S
S
Porcel Pérez
J M
JM
D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019643:Arthroplasty, Replacement / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006622:Hip Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007720:Knee Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents