[Hip joint infections - Results of a questionnaire among 28 university orthopedic departments].

BACKGROUND: Despite numerous prophylactic measures infections still remain a hazardous complication in orthopedic surgery.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: A questionnaire about hip joint infections was sent to all university orthopedic departments in Germany and Austria. The questionnaire included 33 questions with respect to demographic data, causative organisms, diagnostic measures, treatment options for early and late infections, antibiotic therapy and prosthesis reimplantation.
RESULTS: The participation rate was 70%. The most frequent primary surgical indication was primary total hip replacement and Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis were the most common pathogens identified. All departments performed a joint aspiration for diagnosis confirmation but for other diagnostic measures a great discrepancy could be observed. In the treatment of early infections removable components were always exchanged, whereas a local antibiotic therapy was not always employed. With regard to late infections a two-stage protocol was more frequently used than a one-stage treatment, whereby the implantation of a cement spacer was more commonly performed than a resection arthroplasty. The time between stages varied between 6 and 12 weeks and systemic antibiotics were administered for a mean time of 6 weeks. For prosthesis reimplantion cementless components were mostly used but no clear tendency could be determined for systemic antibiotic therapy.
CONCLUSION: Treatment of hip joint infections among German and Austrian university orthopedic departments is only partly carried out in a similar manner.