Gram-negative prosthetic joint infection treated with debridement, prosthesis retention and antibiotic regimens including a fluoroquinolone

Information is required about treatment outcomes of Gram-negative prosthetic joint infections treated with prosthesis retention and surgical debridement, especially where biofilm-active antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones are used. The outcome of 17 consecutive patients with an early Gram-negative prosthetic joint infection who had been treated with prosthesis retention and surgical debridement was analysed. Enterobacteriaceae were isolated in 16 patients and infections were mixed with other organisms in 13 (76%) patients. The median joint age was 17 days and the median duration of symptoms before debridement was 7 days. All patients initially received intravenous β-lactam antibiotic therapy and 14 patients were then treated with oral ciprofloxacin. Treatment failure occurred in two patients over a median period of follow-up of 28 months. In only one patient was a relapsed Gram-negative infection responsible for the failure and this patient had not been treated with ciprofloxacin. The 2-year survival rate free of treatment failure was 94% (95% CI, 63–99%). Prosthesis retention with surgical debridement, in combination with antibiotic regimens including ciprofloxacin, was effective and should be considered for patients with early Gram-negative prosthetic joint infection.