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Orthopedic implants have become essential components of modern medicine. The risk of infection of total hip arthroplasty (THA) is 1.5%−2%. Are the C-reactive protein (CRP), the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and procalcitonin (PCT) good markers for THA infection screenings? From February 2009 to December 2012 at our Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, 1248 patients were treated with THA. No prosthesis was cemented. All patients received antibiotic prophylaxis. All patients were discharged approximately 7.4 days after surgery with this clinical and radiographic follow-up program at 15 days and 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months after surgery. Blood samples to determine ESR, CRP, and PCT values were taken at 1 hour before surgery and 15 days and 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months after surgery. During follow-ups there were 22 cases of THA infections; according the Widmer classification, infections are hematogenous ones in 16 cases, late chronic ones in 5 cases, and early postoperative ones in 1 case. In all cases the three markers were considered positive; in 6 cases there were no radiological signs of septic loosening. ESR, CRP, and PCT proved to have a greater diagnostic accuracy than X-rays in predicting late chronic and early postoperative infections. These markers are valuable support for the surgeon in monitoring the prosthetic implant lifespan.

According to the European Community Regulation 1139/2003, a sampling plan based on an appropriate tests to detect the presence of central nervous system (CNS) tissue on the surface of the head muscles had to be implemented in each member state starting from 2003. In previous studies, we showed a medium CNS contamination in head meat from Italian slaughterhouses of 14,7%. Recently, German authors referred about alarming rates (82%) of CNS contamination in para-vertebral muscles after routine carcass splitting and spinal cord removal practices. In that context, the authors intended to assess the percentage of CNS contamination in muscles close to the vertebral column obtained by applying three different removal practices of specific risk material (SRM). Two alternative techniques, by sucking out and by water-jet, were compared to the traditional one; in both situations the removal of spinal cord occurred before the carcass splitting. The percentage of contamination resulted 62% applying the traditional technique, 60% with the sucking out system and 36% using the water-jet. The results show that water-jet ensures the most significant reduction of SRM contamination in para-vertebral meat as it guarantees a rapid and complete extraction of the spinal cord.