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Managing pelvic osteomyelitis (POM) in the setting of stage IV pressure injuries requires multidisciplinary evaluation as well as patient and caregiver engagement and is complicated by the lack of high-evidence data to guide best practices. In this review, we describe our approach to pressure injury and POM evaluation and management through multidisciplinary collaboration and highlight areas of future research that are necessary to enhance patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and improve the quality of life of those affected by POM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solutions for bone and joint infection (BJI) are needed where conventional treatments are inadequate. Bacteriophages (phages) are naturally occurring viruses that infect bacteria and have been harnessed for refractory bone and joint infections (BJI) in many case reports. Here we examine the safety and efficacy of English-language published cases of BJI since 2010 with phage therapy. From 33 reported cases of BJI treated with phage therapy, 29 (87%) achieved microbiological or clinical success, 2 (5.9%) relapsed with the same organisms, and 2 (5.9%) with a different organism. Of these 4 relapses, all but 1 had eventual clinical resolution with additional surgery or phage treatments. Eight out of 33 cases (24%) reported mild, transient adverse events with no serious events reported. Further work is needed to understand the true efficacy of phages and the role of phages in BJI. Opportunities lay ahead for thoughtfully designed clinical trials adapted to individualized therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is undermining modern medicine, a problem compounded by bacterial adaptation to antibiotic pressures. Phages are viruses that infect bacteria. Their diversity and evolvability offer the prospect of their use as a therapeutic solution. Reported are outcomes of customized phage therapy for patients with difficult-to-treat antimicrobial resistant infections. Methods We retrospectively assessed 12 cases of customized phage therapy from a phage production center. Phages were screened, purified, sequenced, characterized, and Food and Drug Administration–approved via the IND (investigational new drug) compassionate-care route. Outcomes were assessed as favorable or unfavorable by microbiologic and clinical standards. Infections were device-related or systemic. Other experiences such as time to treatment, antibiotic synergy, and immune responses were recorded. Results Fifty requests for phage therapy were received. Customized phages were generated for 12 patients. After treatment, 42% (5/12) of cases showed bacterial eradication and 58% (7/12) showed clinical improvement, with two-thirds of all cases (66%) showing favorable responses. No major adverse reactions were observed. Antibiotic-phage synergy in vitro was observed in most cases. Immunological neutralization of phages was reported in 5 cases. Several cases were complicated by secondary infections. Complete characterization of the phages (morphology, genomics, and activity) and their production (methods, sterility, and endotoxin tests) are reported. Conclusions Customized phage production and therapy was safe and yielded favorable clinical or microbiological outcomes in two-thirds of cases. A center or pipeline dedicated to tailoring the phages against a patient's specific AMR bacterial infection may be a viable option where standard treatment has failed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing pelvic osteomyelitis (POM) in the setting of stage IV pressure injuries requires multidisciplinary evaluation as well as patient and caregiver engagement and is complicated by the lack of high-evidence data to guide best practices. In this review, we describe our approach to pressure injury and POM evaluation and management through multidisciplinary collaboration and highlight areas of future research that are necessary to enhance patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and improve the quality of life of those affected by POM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cutibacterium acnes can cause spinal implant infections. However, little is known about the optimal medical management and outcomes of C. acnes spinal implant infections (CSII). Our study aims to describe the management of patients with CSII and evaluate the clinical outcomes. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 18 years or older who underwent spinal fusion surgery with instrumentation between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2020, and whose intraoperative cultures were positive for C. acnes. The primary outcome was treatment failure based on subsequent recurrence, infection with another organism, or unplanned surgery secondary to infection. Results There were 55 patients with a median follow-up (interquartile range) of 2 (1.2–2.0) years. Overall, there were 6 treatment failures over 85.8 total person-years, for an annual rate of 7.0% (95% CI, 2.6%–15.2%). Systemic antibiotic treatment was given to 74.5% (n = 41) of patients for a median duration of 352 days. In the subgroup treated with systemic antibiotics, there were 4 treatment failures (annual rate, 6.3%; 95% CI, 1.7%–16.2%), all of which occurred while on antibiotic therapy. Two failures occurred in the subgroup without antibiotic treatment (annual rate, 8.8%; 95% CI, 1.1%–31.8%). Conclusions Our study found that the estimated annual treatment failure rate was slightly higher among patients who did not receive antibiotics. Of the 6 failures observed, 4 had recurrence of C. acnes either on initial or subsequent treatment failures. More studies are warranted to determine the optimal duration of therapy for CSII. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Two-stage exchange arthroplasty is a standard approach for treating total knee arthroplasty periprosthetic joint infection in the United States, but whether this should be performed with a static antibiotic spacer or an articulating one that allows range of motion before reimplantation remains controversial. It is unclear if the advantages of articulating spacers (easier surgical exposure during reimplantation and improved postoperative flexion) outweigh the disadvantages of increased cost and complexity in the setting of similar rates of infection eradication.Questions/purposes: The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the ultimate range of motion; and (2) to determine the proportion of patients who remained free of infection at a minimum 2 years after treatment with static antibiotic spacers as part of a two-stage revision TKA for the treatment of periprosthetic joint infection.Methods: Between 1999 and 2011, we treated 121 patients with chronically infected TKAs, of whom three had medical comorbidities precluding a two-stage exchange, four had died before 2-year followup for reasons other than the surgical intervention, and seven were lost to followup. The remaining 107 patients (109 knees; 53 men and 54 women) were treated using a two-stage approach with static spacers and are evaluated here at a mean of 3.7 years (range, 2.0-9.8 years); no patients were treated with articulating spacers during this study period. Twenty-five percent (27 of 109) of the organisms isolated the first-stage procedure were resistant to methicillin and/or vancomycin. Median age at the time of reimplantation was 67 years (range, 42-89 years). Range of motion was measured by an independent physical therapist with a standard goniometer. Knee Society knee and function scores were calculated before the first stage and at the 2-year mark. Because many of these patients were treated before consensus definitions of infection were established, we made the diagnosis of infection (and established that a patient was believed to be free of infection) using the approaches prevalent at that time, which generally included presence of a sinus tract communicating directly with the implant, two positive tissue cultures, or a combination of cultures, fluid analysis, and serology.Results: Postoperatively, 67 knees had full extension and no patients had a flexion contracture > 10°. Median flexion was 100° (range, 60°-139°). Thirty-nine knees had postoperative flexion > 120°. Ninety-four percent of patients were clinically free of infection at last followup.Conclusions: Our two-stage exchange protocol with static spacers yielded comparable flexion and infection eradication when compared with other recent studies that have used articulating spacers. The large proportion of resistant organisms is alarming. Future multicenter studies should compare static with articulating spacers and should evaluate both cost and efficacy, because our study suggests that adequate range of motion can be achieved without the added cost of the articulating spacer.Level Of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]