Types of joint replacements: total knee or total hip
A patient with rheumatoid arthritis has an increased rate of prosthetic joint infection compared to the rate seen in patients with osteoarthritis (hazard ratio 4). The rate of infection is just over 4% by 5 years after the surgery (page 1717).
Independent risk factors for infection of the prosthetic joint:
(1) revision arthroplasty
(2) replacement of a prosthetic joint with a history of a prosthetic joint infection
(3) prolonged operation time (more than 2 hours)
Additional factors that may decrease risk (from discussion or univariate analysis):
(1) prophylactic antibiotic therapy prior to surgery
(2) withholding of disease modifying drugs (DMARD) prior to surgery (risk decreased if stopped for a sufficient period of time).
Additional factors that may increase risk (from discussion or univariate analysis):
(1) history of prosthetic joint infection involving another joint (increased risk if present)
