Abstract
Background: No literature up to date has investigated on the mechanical strength of hand-mixed Vancomycin cement spacers. This puts to question the reliability of such practice in creating the spacers for load support in addition to Methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) coverage. Objective: The study compared the mechanical strength of hand-mixed generic Vancomycin bone cement with standard non-antibiotic bone cement. Methods: One (1) gram vials of generic Vancomycin powder were dry-blended with the cement powder (Cemex) following standard aseptic hospital practice (1 g Vancomycin in 40 g of cement powder). Samples for the cement-alone group were done similarly except for the addition of the antibiotic powder. Tensile and compression samples were created, soaked in saline, and stored at 37 degrees Celsius for one week. All samples were tested at the University of the Philippines College of Engineering Mechanical Laboratory for compressive and tensile strength. Acceptance or rejection of the null hypothesis was conducted using the t-test procedure performed on Minitab 15 Trial Version, with α of 0.05 as the level of significance. Results: T-test analysis performed on compressive strength data produced a p-value of 0.944 (α of 0.05), and on tensile strength data, 0.311 (α of 0.05). Conclusion: There is no effect of the addition of hand-mixed generic Vancomycin on the mechanical properties of the bone cement.
Highlights
The pioneers of joint replacement recognized the serious consequences of an infected arthroplasty and soon adopted the practice of incorporating antibiotics into acrylic bone cement
Recommendation: Results indicate that mechanical properties of bone cement are not compromised by adding hand-mixed generic Vancomycin at the time of surgery, but limitations for treating established musculoskeletal Methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection were emphasized
This study aims to compare the mechanical properties of handmixed bone cement with generic Vancomycin and non-antibiotic bone cement
Summary
The pioneers of joint replacement recognized the serious consequences of an infected arthroplasty and soon adopted the practice of incorporating antibiotics into acrylic bone cement. Antibiotic bone cement provides unique benefits not achieved through other forms of antibiotic administration. It provides local delivery of therapeutic levels while maintaining safe, nontoxic levels in the bloodstream [1,2]. It allows for sustained delivery at the exact site most critical for preventing implant sepsis: the cement/bone interface. No literature up to date has investigated on the mechanical strength of hand-mixed Vancomycin cement spacers. This puts to question the reliability of such practice in creating the spacers for load support in addition to Methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) coverage
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
