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Significantly Lower Infection Risk For ACL Grafts Pre-Soaked in Vancomycin Compared to Un-Soaked Grafts: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Arthroscopy : the journal of arthroscopic & related surgery : official publication of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the International Arthroscopy Association Xiao, M. n., Sherman, S. L., Safran, M. R., Abrams, G. D. 2020

Abstract

To compare post-operative infection rates following ACL reconstruction performed with grafts pre-soaked in vancomycin versus those without vancomycin.A systematic review was performed using PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for therapeutic level I-III studies that compared outcomes of pre-soaking ACL grafts with vancomycin versus without vancomycin in human patients. Included graft types were tendon autografts or allografts, and studies documenting infection with a minimum follow-up of 30 days were included. Postoperative infection rates and knee-specific patient reported outcome scores were extracted from each study and compared between groups. Study methodological quality was analyzed using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) and Modified Coleman Methodology Score (MCMS). Infection rates and re-tear rates were pooled and weighted for meta-analysis using a random-effects model. All P values were reported with an alpha level of 0.05 set as significant.The initial search yielded 144 articles (44 duplicates, 100 screened, 29 full-text review). Ten articles (21,368 subjects [7,507 vancomycin and 13,861 no vancomycin], 67% males, mean age 29.5 + 1.5 years old) were included and analyzed. Eight of the 10 studies included only autografts, with 94.5% of grafts being hamstring autografts. Soaking grafts in vancomycin resulted in significantly fewer infections (0.013% vs 0.77%; OR 0.07 [0.03, 0.18], p < 0.001). Only two studies included patient reported outcomes, and both demonstrated no difference in International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores one year after surgery for patients with grafts pre-soaked in vancomycin compared to without vancomycin.Soaking ACL tendon grafts with vancomycin prior to implantation is associated with a nearly 15 times decrease in odds of infection compared to grafts not soaked in vancomycin. There were few studies that investigated patient reported outcomes and re-tear rates after soaking ACL grafts in vancomycin.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.arthro.2020.12.212

View details for PubMedID 33359822