Papers Presented at the 2009 Meeting of the Musculoskeletal Infection Society: Editorial Comment

Musculoskeletal infections result in considerable morbidity and mortality and lead to prolonged hospitalization and increased healthcare costs. Such infections present a major challenge to patients, treating teams of specialists, and healthcare systems. An improved understanding of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of these infections is essential to enhance patient care and outcomes. With this goal in mind, the 20th annual meeting of the Musculoskeletal Infection Society of North America was held in Marina Del Rey, CA, in August 2010. The meeting included educational lectures and research papers on basic and biofilm science; risk factors; and prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of musculoskeletal infections. In this issue, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research features 11 of these papers. Four papers focus on the basic science of local antimicrobial delivery. New information is presented on elution of antimicrobials from emulsified bone cement, from bone cement of increased porosity, and from two sources of calcium sulfate as delivery vehicles. The cytotoxic effects of amphotericin B are also demonstrated. Diagnosis of infection can be challenging, and three papers address this issue by describing the role of joint aspirate white blood cell count and neutrophil percentage in the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infections, by investigating the association of early postoperative leukocytosis with these infections, and by presenting a novel molecular technique for the diagnosis of infection. Two papers report on the management of periprosthetic joint infections. The results of irrigation and debridement for these infections are presented, as well as the outcome after two-stage exchange arthroplasty for infected knee arthroplasty. Finally, one paper addresses septic arthritis of a diseased hip using an articulating spacer and one reports on the sterility of the personal protection system in total joint arthroplasty. The annual meeting of the Musculoskeletal Infection Society of North America emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration among basic scientists, infectious disease specialists, and orthopaedic surgeons and provides a unique opportunity to exchange information and learn from each other. The 2-day meeting in 2011 was held in Rochester, MN, August 5 to 6 (Figs. 1, ​,22). Fig. 1 Dr. Charalampos G. Zalavras is shown. Fig. 2 Dr. Montri D. Wongworawat is shown.