Antibiotic Prescribing for UTIs in Prosthetic Joint Arthroplasty Patients

Altering perioperative urinary tract infection screening markedly reduced antibiotic prescribing in patients undergoing total hip or total knee arthroplasty without increasing surgical site infection rates.

Because a prosthetic joint infection (PJI) can be a serious complication following total hip (THA) or total knee (TKA) arthroplasty, orthopedic surgeons have frequently screened and treated patients for potential perioperative urinary tract infection (UTI). Investigators at one academic medical center that had routinely performed dipstick urinalyses (UA) to identify and manage perioperative UTIs undertook a three-stage assessment of this practice and its impact on antibiotic prescribing and PJI rates.

First, the investigators retrospectively studied 200 THA and TKA patients and found that 37 (18.5%) were treated preoperatively and 72 (36%) postoperatively for a UTI; only 6 patients had a urine culture. Next, the authors prospectively studied…

Reviewing Author

Richard T. Ellison III, MD

Disclosures

Consult/Advisory BoardAcurx Pharmaceuticals, LLC;

Grant/Research SupportDoctors Company Foundation, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Richard T. Ellison III, MD

Disclosures

Consult/Advisory BoardAcurx Pharmaceuticals, LLC;

Grant/Research SupportDoctors Company Foundation, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Antibiotic Prescribing for UTIs in Prosthetic Joint Arthroplasty Patients

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Reviewing Author