A surgeons perspective on staphylococcal infection

Abstract number: 1732_244

Morgan-Jones R., Kluytmans J., Bonten M.

Orthopaedic and Trauma surgery is an implant specialty where surgical success is related to the insertion of prosthetic joints (e.g. knee, hip and shoulder replacements) and reconstructive metalwork following trauma (e.g. intra-medullary nails, plates and screws).

The worst complication is infection which results in multiple additional operations, extended hospitalisation, prolonged morbidity and poor functional outcomes. Infection rates are low, ideally between 0.5% and 2%. The most common infective organism is Staphylococcus aureus which accounts for 50–70% of cases. Methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci are of growing importance but numerically less significant.

The clinical presentation, surgical techniques and pre/post operative morbidity of chronic osteomyelitis and infected joint replacement will be discussed to project the patients' perspective of S. aureus.