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Research Article: Early Biofilm Formation on the Drain Tip after Total Knee Arthroplasty Is Not Associated with Prosthetic Joint Infection: A Pilot Prospective Case Series Study of a Single Center

Date Published: 2024-01-31

Abstract:
Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating complication of arthroplasties that could occur during the surgery. The purpose of this study was to analyze the biofilm formation through microbiological culture tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on the tip of surgical drainage removed 24 h after arthroplasty surgery. Methods: A total of 50 consecutive patients were included in the present prospective observational study. Drains were removed under total aseptic conditions twenty-four hours after surgery. The drain tip was cut in three equal parts of approximately 2–3 cm in length and sent for culture, culture after sonication, and SEM analysis. The degree of biofilm formation was determined using a SEM semi-quantitative scale. Results: From the microbiological analysis, the cultures of four samples were positive. The semi-quantitative SEM analysis showed that no patient had grade 4 of biofilm formation. A total of 8 patients (16%) had grade 3, and 14 patients (28%) had grade 2. Grade 1, scattered cocci with immature biofilm, was contemplated in 16 patients (32%). Finally, 12 patients (24%) had grade 0 with a total absence of bacteria. During the follow-up (up to 36 months), no patient showed short- or long-term infectious complications. Conclusions: Most of the patients who underwent primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) showed biofilm formation on the tip of surgical drain 24 h after surgery even though none showed a mature biofilm formation (grade 4). Furthermore, 8% of patients were characterized by a positivity of culture analysis. However, none of the patients included in the study showed signs of PJI up to 3 years of follow-up.

Introduction:
Closed-suction drainages are widely used after elective or emergency orthopedic surgery to prevent hematoma formation and local fluid accumulation, reducing limb swelling and promoting wound healing [1,2]. Recently, the systematic use of drains after orthopedic procedures has been questioned [3,4]. Hence, a recent systematic review reported that the routine use of drains does not add any benefits after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) [5]. Moreover, a recent randomized controlled trial reported that the application…

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