Joint Infection

In an effort to “improve uniformity” and reduce the “wide variation” in intra-articular therapy use, EULAR recently published 11 new recommendations to guide clinicians in employing these therapies for patients with peripheral arthropathies.

The results of a randomized controlled trial demonstrated that a 6-week course of antibiotics for prosthetic joint infection was not noninferior to a 12-week course and resulted in a higher percentage of patients with unfavorable outcomes.

The use of fluoroquinolones was associated with significantly higher unplanned drug discontinuation and more adverse events among patients with prosthetic joint infections, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Data from a 4-year study conducted in one French facility suggest that PCR is a beneficial “add-on” to routine culture to diagnose patients with a suspected bone and joint infection.

NEW YORK — According to a presenter at the Musculoskeletal Infection Society Annual Open Scientific Meeting, routine use of antibiotic-loaded bone cement in patients who underwent primary total knee arthroplasty was not cost effective. Antibiotic-loaded bone cement added $299 in costs and did not decrease the rate of periprosthetic joint infection.