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High Rates of Occult Infection After Shoulder Fracture Fixation: Considerations for Conversion Shoulder Arthroplasty

  • Original Article
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HSS Journal ®

Abstract

Background

Existing hardware may contribute to increased risk of bacterial contamination and subsequent periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in conversion shoulder arthroplasty performed for failed fracture fixation.

Questions/Purposes

This study examined the incidence of positive pre-operative aspiration and inflammatory marker data, along with correlation of pre-operative positive aspiration or inflammatory markers and subsequent infection following conversion shoulder arthroplasty for failed open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) and the need for re-operation at 4.6-year follow-up.

Methods

Twenty-eight patients who underwent conversion to shoulder arthroplasty for any reason after fracture fixation were retrospectively reviewed in a single center. A pre-operative aspiration was done in 17 patients; all patients had intra-operative tissue sampling. All procedures were single-stage removal of hardware and performance of the arthroplasty. In cases of pre-operative positive bacterial growth, a single-stage procedure was performed according to the septic ENDO-Klinik protocol.

Results

In 4 of 17 pre-operative joint aspirations, bacterial growth was detected; one pre-operative negative aspiration demonstrated bacterial growth in intra-operative sampling. In three of them, the infection has been validated through intra-operatively results. Pre-operative aspiration showed a sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 92% (p < 0.005) for infection. No post-operative PJIs were observed. Six revisions were performed, most commonly for aseptic loosening (two cases) and conversion of hemiarthroplasty to a reverse design (two cases).

Conclusions

In conclusion, the risk of low-grade shoulder infection after fracture osteosynthesis may be higher than in hip and knee joints, based on limited study data. Adequate pre-operative testing is recommended to rule out occult shoulder infection in this setting.

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Disclosures

ᅟ

Conflict of Interest

Till O. Klatte, MD, Reza Sabihi, Daniel Guenther, MD, Atul F. Kamath, MD, Johannes M. Rueger, MD, PhD, Thorsten Gehrke, MD, PhD, and Daniel Kendoff, MD, PhD, have declared that they have no conflict of interest.

Human/Animal Rights

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008 (5).

Informed Consent

Informed consent was waived from all patients for being included in the study.

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Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the online version of this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Orthopaedic Surgery, Helios ENDO-Klinik Hamburg, Holstenstrasse 2, 22767, Hamburg, Germany

    Reza Sabihi, Thorsten Gehrke MD, PhD & Daniel Kendoff MD, PhD

  2. Department of Trauma, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany

    Till O. Klatte MD & Johannes M. Rueger MD, PhD

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, 2 Silverstein Pavilion, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Atul F. Kamath MD

  4. Trauma Department, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany

    Daniel Guenther MD

Authors
  1. Till O. Klatte MD
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  2. Reza Sabihi
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  3. Daniel Guenther MD
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  4. Atul F. Kamath MD
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  5. Johannes M. Rueger MD, PhD
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  6. Thorsten Gehrke MD, PhD
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  7. Daniel Kendoff MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Kendoff MD, PhD.

Additional information

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study Level IV

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Klatte, T.O., Sabihi, R., Guenther, D. et al. High Rates of Occult Infection After Shoulder Fracture Fixation: Considerations for Conversion Shoulder Arthroplasty. HSS Jrnl 11, 198–203 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11420-015-9450-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11420-015-9450-z

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