Staphylococcus aureus is the predominant cause of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) and can persist at the time of planned second stage of 2-stage revision arthroplasty, despite antibiotic cement spacer insertion and parenteral antibiotic therapy. Given the rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance, it is important to determine whether the antibiotic susceptibility of microorganisms changes between the stages of a 2-stage revision.
A total of 1614 2-stage revision hip/knee arthroplasties performed for PJI at 2 academic institutions from 2000 to 2015 were identified. S aureus (methicillin susceptible and/or resistant) was isolated by culture in 402 (24.9%) cases during the first stage (resection arthroplasty). S aureus persisted and was cultured in 30 cases (knees = 18, hips = 12) during the second stage. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), demographics, antibiotic therapy, and surgical history were collected. The MICs at the time of the first-stage and second-stage surgeries were compared.
Nine (30%) revisions had an increase in vancomycin MIC. Six had an increase from ≤0.5 to 1 μg/mL, 2 had an increase from ≤0.5 to 2 μg/mL, and 1 had an increase from 1 to 2 μg/mL. All of the 9 revisions with an increase in vancomycin MIC had vancomycin in spacer.
Increases in the MICs were observed for vancomycin, the antibiotic widely used in cement spacers, in about one-third of the revisions. Despite the small sample size, the data from this preliminary study raise concern about the potential for emergence of resistant organisms between the stages of a 2-stage revision.