Infections associated with prosthetic devices: magnitude of the problem.

The number and diversity of prosthetic devices inserted into patients continue to increase each year. Despite technological advances in the design and manufacture of prostheses and improved surgical techniques, infection remains a serious and potentially fatal complication. Although the incidence of serious infections remains low (averaging a few per cent for totally implanted devices), the consequences of an infected prosthesis can be disastrous. The incidence of infections related to temporary or partially implanted devices is even higher than for prostheses completely covered by the skin. In addition to excess morbidity and occasionally mortality, prosthesis-related infections add to the costs of medical care and to prolonged hospitalization. the magnitude of the problem is greatly underappreciated, in part due to the care of such infections on a piecemeal basis by numerous and diverse health care specialists.