Supports used for positioning of patients in hip arthroplasty: is there an infection risk?

INTRODUCTIONInfection after joint arthroplasty is a disastrous complication. Implants used in hip arthroplasty increase the risk of infection from organisms of low pathogenicity. Potential reservoirs, that have not been assessed as yet, are the supports used for patient positioning in hip arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to assess these supports for presence of bacterial pathogens. SUBJECTS AND METHODSWe studied 40 supports used in 20 hip arthroplasty procedures. Tryptone soya agar plates were used to sample these supports. All agar plates were incubated at 37°C for 48 h. RESULTSOf the 20 anterior supports, 17 (85%) showed bacterial colonisation; of the 20 posterior supports, 10 (50%) had bacterial colonisation. Fourteen (52%) supports were contaminated with one organism, 9 (33%) with two organisms, three (11%) with three organisms and one (4%) with four organisms. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most common isolated organisms (61%) followed by coryneforms (10%) and bacilli (10%). Ant...