Difficulty in recruiting patients for the study

The purpose of this study is to determine if Collatamp, a small flat sponge soaked with antibiotics will help to improve the success rate of the treatment of acute joint infections after a joint replacement surgery. Our hypothesis is that those patients receiving the Collatamp sponges will have an improved success with respect to the eradication of infection at one year following treatment.

While total hip and knee replacement surgery remains a highly successful treatment for arthritis of the hip and knee, infection following a joint replacement still remains an issue, occurring in approximately 1-2% of joint replacement patients. Treatment of infection remains very difficult with the successful elimination of the infection being quite variable, ranging from as low as 10% to approximately 85-90%, following a two stage revision. A two stage revision involves removing the joint replacement implant and replacing it with a cement spacer until the surgeon is comfortable that the infection has been eliminated. In the second part of a two stage revision the cement spacer is removed and a new joint replacement implant is inserted in the joint space. In particular, the treatment of an acute infection, that is, infection occurring in the early postoperative period or in a patient with less than two weeks duration of symptoms, is particularly problematic. As a first line of treatment, surgeons often perform an irrigation (washing out a wound with a stream of water) and debridement (the surgical removal of contaminated tissue) surrounding the joint in the hopes of preserving the joint replacement, although the success rate is highly variable. Most treatment routines involve irrigation of the joint with copious (large) amounts of fluid, removal of infected soft tissue, replacement of any removable parts (example plastic liners or femoral heads) and then intravenous antibiotics for a prolonged period of time (6-8 weeks). It is thought that part of the reason for failure with this form of treatment is the inability to adequately provide local antibiotics to the joint environment while the joint replacement components are in place. In particular, the formation of a bacterial slime by the infecting organism, which can attach itself to the metallic components, is thought to be a major hindrance to removing infection. In theory, the ability to infuse local antibiotics to the joint could prove advantageous to the treatment of joint replacement infections.

Collatamp® is a like a small flat sponge soaked with antibiotics that delivers a consistent dose of fast-release antibiotics called Gentamicin Sulphate (2.0 mg/cm2). The antibiotic is concentrated locally in the tissue around the joint replacement. The sponge is reabsorbed by the body and therefore does not need to be surgically removed. Collatamp® sponges have been utilized in the clinical setting for over 20 yrs. This material has been used in treatment of other orthopaedic, general surgery, and cardiac infections, but has not been studied in the setting of infected total joint replacements. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of CollatampTM sponges as an addition to the treatment of acute joint infections after a total joint replacement surgery.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with an acute total joint infection

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of alcoholism
• Unable to return for follow-up
• Refuses to participate in the study
• Does not speak English