Postoperative septic arthritis after elective equine arthroscopy without antimicrobial prophylaxis.

The research explores the incidence of postoperative infections in horses that undergo elective arthroscopy without any prophylactic antimicrobial treatment.

Objective

The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of postoperative septic arthritis in horses after elective arthroscopy without providing any antimicrobial prophylaxis and to report the complication rate from a series of 444 consecutive equine arthroscopies.

Methodology

• The researchers conducted a retrospective analysis using the medical records of 444 horses that had gone through elective arthroscopy between 2008 and 2010.
• The study excluded the data of the horses that had septic arthritis at the time of admission, those admitted for tenoscopy and bursoscopy and those who had arthroscopic-assisted internal fracture fixation.
• Data points recorded included the age and sex of the horse, duration of anesthesia, joint examined, number of portals, the surgeon that performed the operation, postoperative complications, date of complication, and the number of septic joints.

Results

• A total of 636 joints were examined in 444 horses, and 20 complications were recorded in 19 horses. The complications included fever, surgical site infection, cellulitis, wounds associated with inappropriate bandaging, limb swelling postsuture removal, medical colic, and septic joint.
• The rate of septic joints, ones infected with bacteria, was found to be 0.5% of the joints or 0.7% of the horses.
• None of the horses with septic joints had any other complications.
• All the horses that had complications survived and returned to normal function.

Conclusion

The rate of joint infections in the cohort examined, which underwent elective arthroscopy without antimicrobial prophylaxis, was found to be consistent with other reports which cited a 0.9% infection rate in horses after arthroscopy wherein they were either not given antimicrobials or were administered antimicrobial therapy pre or post operation. This suggests that withholding prophylactic antibiotic treatments does not significantly increase the risk of postoperative septic arthritis.