Joint prostheses at risk from GI surgery.
Some patients with joint prostheses should receive prophylactic antibiotics before gastrointestinal surgery, according to researchers. While it is usual for patients with prosthetic heart valves to receive prophylaxis, those with joint replacements have not been considered to be at risk of infection. The researchers report a woman who had had a knee replacement six years ago and an elective haemorrhoidectomy three months before the reported admission.