Orthopedic infections are complex, often requiring surgical intervention and prolonged antibiotic therapy, especially in the presence of a foreign body. In a rabbit model of implant-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis, the lysins exebacase and CF-296 delivered locally with and without systemic daptomycin resulted in lower bacterial counts than those of control animals, showing a promising complement to conventional antibiotics in implant-associated infections.

Cutibacterium acnes is a bacterium responsible for most postoperative infections in orthopaedic shoulder surgery. There is currently a number of studies describing measures to reduce bacterial burden on the skin prior to surgery. In these studies it is rarely explained what bacterial sampling technique has been used. This study compares three different swab techniques and concludes that the new pencil eraser swab technique may be the best in detecting bacteria.

Cutibacterium acnes infections in hip arthroplasty may be underdiagnosed. Cemented components in THA seem to protect from colonization of Cutibacterium acnes. Post-operative infections are preferably surgically treated with DAIR within a month after hip replacement but infection eradication may still not be excluded at an extended time in some cases. Further large-scale studies are needed to confirm our results.