The Cost-Effectiveness of Normal-Saline Pulsed Lavage for Infection Prophylaxis in Total Joint Arthroplasty

Background

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a well-described complication after total joint arthroplasty which imposes a substantial burden of morbidity and mortality on the individual, as well as cost to the health-care system. This study used a break-even analysis to investigate the cost-effectiveness of pulsed saline lavage (PSL) for PJI prophylaxis after a primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Methods

An established model was used to calculate the minimum cost-effective absolute risk reduction of PSL for infection prophylaxis after a total joint arthroplasty. Baseline infection rates of TKA and THA and the cost of a revision surgery for PJI were derived from the literature while the cost of PSL implementation was obtained from institutional data.

Results

PSL is cost-effective at an initial infection rate of 1.10%, revision costs of $32,132 for TKA PJI, and a protocol cost of $38.28 if it reduces infection rates by 0.12% or prevents infection in 1 out of 839 patients. PSL is cost-effective at an initial infection rate of 1.63% and a revision cost of $39,713 for THA PJI if it reduces infection rates by 0.10% or prevents infection in 1 out of 1037 patients. The absolute risk reduction needed for economic viability did not change with varying baseline infection rates and did not exceed 0.38% for infection treatment costs as low as $10,000 and remained less than 0.47% even if PSL cost was as high as $150.

Conclusions

The use of PSL is a cost-effective protocol for PJI prophylaxis after TKAs and THAs.

Does pulsed lavage reduce the risk of surgical site infection? A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Surgical site infections (SSIs) remain a significant and common postoperative complication. Whereas most surgeons use some form of wound irrigation during closure, its impact on SSI rates is debated. Preliminary studies in the use of pressurized irrigation, termed pulsed lavage, may have potential benefit to reduce the risk of SSI.

AIM

To perform a systematic review to identify studies that reported SSI rates following surgery, comparing the use of pulsed lavage to controls, following PRISMA guidelines.

METHODS

All study types and those published up to January 1^st, 2021 were included. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for each included study using a Mantel-Haenszel statistical analysis, via a random effects model. A sub-analysis on abdominal procedures only was also performed.

FINDINGS

Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria, covering either orthopaedic or general surgery procedures; 1875 patients were included, with 816 patients in the pulsed lavage group and 1059 patients in the control group. Overall study quality was low. There was a significant reduction in the SSI rate with the use of pulsed lavage (odds ratio (OR): 0.39; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.25-0.62; P < 0.0001). Sub-analysis on abdominal operations only showed further improvement to the SSI rate with pulsed lavage (OR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.21-0.49; P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Pulsed lavage significantly reduces the rate of SSIs in surgical procedures, the effect being most pronounced in abdominal operations; however, current study quality is low. Randomized controlled trial data are essential to fully assess the potential clinical and financial benefits pulsed lavage can confer to SSI reduction.

The Japan Society for Surgical Infection: guidelines for the prevention, detection, and management of gastroenterological surgical site infection, 2018

Background

The guidelines for the prevention, detection, and management of gastroenterological surgical site infections (SSIs) were published in Japanese by the Japan Society for Surgical Infection in 2018. This is a summary of these guidelines for medical professionals worldwide.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review and comprehensive evaluation of the evidence for diagnosis and treatment of gastroenterological SSIs, based on the concepts of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system. The strength of recommendations was graded and voted using the Delphi method and the nominal group technique. Modifications were made to the guidelines in response to feedback from the general public and relevant medical societies.

Results

There were 44 questions prepared in seven subject areas, for which 51 recommendations were made. The seven subject areas were: definition and etiology, diagnosis, preoperative management, prophylactic antibiotics, intraoperative management, perioperative management, and wound management. According to the GRADE system, we evaluated the body of evidence for each clinical question. Based on the results of the meta-analysis, recommendations were graded using the Delphi method to generate useful information. The final version of the recommendations was published in 2018, in Japanese.

Conclusions

The Japanese Guidelines for the prevention, detection, and management of gastroenterological SSI were published in 2018 to provide useful information for clinicians and improve the clinical outcome of patients.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s00595-020-02181-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.