Infections in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is the most frequent ligamentous injury of the knee.32 It is frequently injured in young athletes performing cutting and pivoting sports and predisposes the knee to subsequent injuries, as well as the potential for earlier onset of osteoarthritis.8,25,40 Arthroscopic ACL reconstruction is a common and effective method of restoring stability to the knee after injury, with more than 400,000 ACL reconstructions performed annually in the United States.11,18,19,29,30,31,33,35,36,50,60 Like any surgical procedure, a number of potential complications have been recognized that may affect functional outcome.3,7,31,43,53 Specifically, infection after ACL reconstruction can be a devastating complication. Overall, infection rates are low (0.14%-1.7%) after ACL reconstruction.44 Despite the theoretical risk of disease transmission and higher graft failure in irradiated grafts, the use of allograft tissue continues to gain popularity for a number of reasons.