The John N. Insall Award: Higher Tissue Concentrations of Vancomycin Achieved With Intraosseous Regional Prophylaxis in Revision TKA: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background In primary TKA, prophylaxis with low-dose vancomycin through intraosseous regional administration (IORA) achieves tissue concentrations six to 10 times higher than systemic administration and was shown to provide more effective prophylaxis in an animal model. However, in revision TKA, the presence of a tibial implant may compromise IORA injection, and tourniquet deflation during a prolonged procedure may lower tissue concentrations.

Questions/purposes (1) Does low-dose IORA reliably provide equal or higher tissue concentrations of vancomycin compared with systemic IV administration in revision TKA? (2) Are tissue concentrations of vancomycin after IORA maintained for the duration of the revision TKA despite a period of tourniquet deflation? (3) Is there any difference in early postoperative (< 6 weeks) complications between IORA and systemic IV administration in revision TKA?

Methods Twenty patients undergoing aseptic revision TKA were randomized to two groups. The IV group received 1 g systemic IV prophylactic vancomycin. The IORA group received 500 mg vancomycin as a bolus injection into a tibial intraosseous cannula below an inflated thigh tourniquet before skin incision. In all patients receiving IORA, intraosseous tibial injection was technically possible despite the presence of a tibial implant. Mean procedure length was 3.5 hours in both groups. Mean initial tourniquet inflation was 1.5 hours with a second inflation for a mean of 35 minutes during cementation. During the procedure, subcutaneous fat and bone samples were taken at regular intervals. Tissue vancomycin concentrations were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography.

Results Overall geometric mean tissue concentration of vancomycin in fat samples was 3.7 μg/g (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.6-5.2) in the IV group versus 49.3 μg/g in the IORA group (95% CI, 33.2-73.4; ratio between means 13.5; 95% CI, 8.2-22.0; p < 0.001); mean tissue concentrations in femoral bone were 6.4 μg/g (95% CI, 4.5-9.2) in the IV group versus 77.1 μg/g (95% CI, 42.4-140) in the IORA group (ratio between means 12.0; 95% CI, 6.2-23.2; p < 0.001). Vancomycin concentrations in the final subcutaneous fat sample taken before closure were 5.3 times higher in the IORA group versus the IV group (mean ± SD, 18.2 ± 11.6 μg/g IORA versus 3.6 ± 2.5 μg/g; p < 0.001). The intraarticular concentration of vancomycin on postoperative Day 1 drain samples was not different between the two groups with the numbers available (mean 4.6 μg/L in the IV group versus 6.6 μg/g in the IORA group; mean difference 2.0 μg/g; 95% CI, 6.2-23.2; p = 0.08).

Conclusions IORA administration of vancomycin in patients undergoing revision TKA resulted in tissue concentrations of vancomycin five to 20 times higher than systemic IV administration despite the lower dose. High tissue concentrations were maintained throughout the procedure despite a period of tourniquet deflation. These preliminary results justify prospective cohort studies, which might focus on broader safety endpoints in more diverse patient populations. We believe that these studies should evaluate patients undergoing revision TKA in particular, because the risk of infection is greater than in patients undergoing primary TKA.

Level of Evidence Level I, therapeutic study.