Authors: Antonia F Chen Nicholas C Kinback Alma E Heyl Edward J McClain Brian A Klatt
Publish Date: 2012/03/27
Volume: 470, Issue: 10, Pages: 2737-2745
Abstract
Treatment of chronic periprosthetic joint infections PJIs after TKA is limited to fusions abovetheknee amputations AKAs revision TKA and antibiotic suppression and is often based on the patient’s medical condition However when both fusion and AKA are options it is important to compare these two procedures with regard to functionWe retrospectively reviewed patients who were eligible for either fusion or AKA after PJI TKA Thirtyseven patients underwent a fusion for PJIs after TKA between 1999 and 2010 Nine patients died postoperatively and eight patients were lost to followup leaving 20 patients Patients completed a specialized questionnaire about their fusion and functional capability was assessed by the SF12 We compared fusions to a previously published group of six patients who underwent AKA for recurrent PJI after TKAFor patients with fusion community ambulators increased from five to 10 and nonambulators decreased from three to one For patients with AKA nonambulatory patients increased from zero to two and community ambulators decreased from four to one The SF12 physical component summary measurements were higher for fusions 51 than for AKAs 26 The mental component summary was also higher in fusions 60 than in AKAs 44 Seventy percent of patients indicated they would undergo a fusion again instead of undergoing an amputation if they were presented with both options after undergoing their operationEach author certifies that he or she or a member of his or her immediate family has no commercial associations eg consultancies stock ownership equity interest patent/licensing arrangements etc that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted articleEach author certifies that his or her institution approved the human protocol for this investigation that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research and that informed consent for participation in the study was obtained
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