Infected total hip replacement after dental procedures

Abstract

Three cases are reported in which there was a worrisome association between dental work and an infected total hip replacement. The patients had long asymptomatic intervals subsequent to implantation of prosthetic hip joints. After dental procedures, infections became apparent in these hips. Such infections carry an enormous and crippling morbidity. The potential complications of transient bacteremia in the patient with a cardiac valvular prosthesis are appreciated and the importance of prophylactic antibodies for dental work in such patients is well known. Although we emphasize that there is no proof that the infections in our patients were metastatic from the mouth, the sequence of events is suggestive. We recommend prophylactic antibiotics for dental work in the patient with a total hip replacement.