Intraoperative injection of gentamicin may be a cost-effective way to reduce deep infection stemming from shoulder arthroplasty, according to recently published data.
Researchers retrospectively evaluated 507 shoulder arthroplasties performed by a single surgeon between 2005 and 2011. Although all patients received systemic prophylactic antibiotics, those who underwent surgery after June 2007 also received 160 mg of gentamicin in the glenohumeral joint to prevent surgery-related deep infection. Patients who received gentamicin (group B) and those who did not receive gentamicin (group A) were compared and evaluated for preexisting medical conditions, type of surgery and presence of infection. Minimum follow-up was 1 year.