A novel total knee arthroplasty infection model in rabbits

A total of 42 knees were used for analysis. When saline was injected into the knee, 0/10 of the knees demonstrated evidence of biomaterial centered infection (with the contralateral knee receiving 104 CFU MRSA). Four of 10 knees developed a biomaterial centered infection when 102 CFU MRSA was introduced. Seven out of 10 knees developed a biomaterial centered infection when either 103 or 104 CFU MRSA was injected. No evidence of septicemia (positive blood cultures) was found in any animal. This rabbit knee model utilizes commonly employed inexpensive orthopaedic implant materials in an in vivo milieu and provides an effective method for the evaluation of treatments for biomaterial centered infections.