Antibiotic prophylaxis for the prevention of late infections of prosthetic joints.

Late infection of prosthetic joints as a result of the haematogenous spread of an organism from a remote site with the seeding of that organism on the bone-implanted prosthesis interface is a well-documented but rare complication of prosthetic joint surgery. However, the use of antibiotic prophylaxis is such cases is controversial. The details of 67 previously reported cases of late infection have been reviewed in conjunction with the details of a series of 43 patients, and observations and recommendations regarding antibiotic prophylaxis are made upon the basis of these accumulated data.