Antibiotic bone cement and the incidence of deep infection after total knee arthroplasty.

We asked if the use of antibiotic-laden bone cement (ALBC) decreased the deep infection rate after primary total knee arthroplasty as compared to plain bone cement. We surveyed 1625 consecutive patients for relevant covariates. Joint pain and function were assessed at baseline and at 1 year of follow-up with the Western Ontario McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index scores. The incidence of deep infection at 1-year follow-up was recorded. There were no differences in baseline covariates between groups (P > .05). We found a deep infection rate of 2.2% in the ALBC group and 3.1% in the plain bone cement group (P = .27). Adjusted analysis showed that ALBC was not predictive of a lower infection rate at 1 year (P = .84). Antibiotic-laden bone cement did not reduce the incidence of deep infection following primary total knee arthroplasty at 1-year follow-up.