A surgical technique using presoaked vancomycin hamstring grafts to decrease the risk of infection after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether presoaking hamstring graft with a dilute antibiotic solution provides a potential new tool to improve measures to prevent joint infection.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of data that were prospectively collected for 1,135 consecutive patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) during a 7-year period. In the initial 3-year period, 285 patients (group 1) underwent ACLR with a hamstring autograft with preoperative intravenous (IV) antibiotics. In the subsequent 4-year period, 870 patients underwent ACLR with a vancomycin-presoaked hamstring autograft (group 2) with preoperative IV antibiotics. Presoaking involved wrapping hamstring tendon autografts in a sterile gauze swab, which had been previously saturated with 5-mg/mL vancomycin solution.

Results: In group 1 a total of 4 postoperative joint infections were documented (1.4%). Each case showed increasing pain and effusion, as well as a high intra-articular white blood cell count and increased C-reactive protein level. Of the 4 infected cases, 3 cultured coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (Staphylococcus epidermidis). The fourth case was treated as a postoperative infection despite a negative culture and responded to arthroscopic washout and IV antibiotics. In group 2 no infections (0%) were recorded, and no investigatory washouts occurred. The difference was statistically significant. Known failures were similar in each group.

Conclusions: Prophylactic vancomycin presoaking of hamstring autografts statistically reduced the infection rate in this series compared with IV antibiotics alone.

Level of evidence: Level IV, therapeutic case series.