Bacterial Epidemiology and Empirical Antibiotherapy in Patients With Prosthetic Joint Infection

The purpose of this study is to establish a bacterial epidemiology in patients who present a prosthetic joint infection and for which a surgery is necessary. At the time of the first surgery, as the bacteria responsible for the infection are not known, a probabilistic antibiotherapy is initiated at once after the surgical treatment. The antibiotherapy is then adapted to the bacteria from samples collected during the surgery when they are identified (the delay is 14-21 days).

The study will focus on bacteria identified on samples collected during the surgery; the delay between the implantation of the prosthesis and the presentation of symptoms will be considered : more than one year vs. less than one year.

Investigators assume that there is not the same type of bacteria involved in those two cases of delays and that the probabilistic antibiotherapy may be not optimal when the symptoms are presented more than one year after implantation of the prosthesis. A probabilistic antibiotherapy not adapted lead to develop resistance for the bacteria and decrease the chance to cure the patient (increasing of relapse).

The result of this study will allow medical doctors to have an optimal probabilistic antibiotherapy, depending on the delay between implantation of the prosthesis and the presentation of the symptoms.