Total Hip Replacement Infection

During the last 30 years management options have developed to improve clearance of infection while maintaining joint function during treatment and improve outcome at reimplantation.

Total hip replacement infection.

Infection remains a serious complication of total hip arthroplasty tha. Arthritis damage is the most common reason to need hip replacement. Also called total hip arthroplasty hip replacement surgery might be an option for you if your hip pain interferes with daily activities and nonsurgical treatments haven t helped or are no longer effective. There is an estimated 0 5 to 1 risk of an infection following a hip replacement.

Symptoms may include a fever and pus or clear liquid oozing from the wound. Once your orthopaedic surgeon and the infectious disease doctor determine that the infection has been cured this usually takes at least 6 weeks you will be a candidate for a new total hip or knee implant called a revision surgery. It occurs in one to three percent of patients nationally. Infections can happen to the joint replacement infection even years after the surgery.

There should be no clear discharge from the wound after 10 days and if there is you must inform your doctor. Symptoms of hip replacement infection. Infection is a rare but serious complication after total joint replacement surgery. Though our most recent review of infection data at the university of utah center for hip and knee reconstruction showed an infection rate better than the national average at 0 5 percent as of 2013.

Laboratory studies demonstrate a c reactive protein of 10 mg dl normal 2 0 mg dl and an erythrocyte sedimentation rate of 50 mm h normal 20 mm h. This second procedure is stage 2 of treatment for joint replacement infection. The american academy of orthopaedic surgeons puts the risk at about 1 percent. Obq11 46 a 68 year old woman underwent a right total knee arthroplasty 5 years ago and has increasing right knee pain over the past 2 months.

Joint replacement infections are a very dangerous surgical complications after knee and hip replacement. In these cases bacteria can adhere to the implant itself which makes the infection difficult to treat. Radiographs are seen in figures a and b respectively. Infections are caused by viruses or bacteria.

Any type of infection in other areas of the body can also lead to the infection of the hip or knee replacements. The study reviewed medical literature on infection following total hip arthroplasty and found various studies that showed a risk of between 0 57 percent and 2 23 percent for infection around or near the joint.