Of the one million people each year who get hips and knees
replaced, as many as 20,000 will get an infection in the new
joint, a number that is expected to increase in the next 20
years. Multi-specialty teams need to work together to reduce
disability, death and costs associated with the ever-growing
number of these prosthetic joint infections, note the first
guidelines on the topic being released by the Infectious
Diseases Society of America (IDSA). "There are very few things
that improve quality of life as much as joint replacement, but
one to two percent of the time the new joint can become
infected, even when precautions are taken," said Douglas R.
Osmon, MD, associate professor of medicine in the division of
infectious diseases at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. "There
are many different ways to treat these infections to achieve the
same outcome. The guidelines provide a framework to help
multidisciplinary teams choose the best method of diagnosis and
treatment for each patient." Hips, knees and other