Novel antimicrobial surfaces for orthopaedic applications

该研究项目解决了骨科手术中的一个严重挑战：人工关节感染。人工关节已被广泛用于治疗关节疾病，如骨关节炎，在加拿大每年约有50，000例全髋关节和膝关节置换手术，在美国每年超过50万例。初次关节置换术的总体感染率可达2%，膝关节翻修手术的感染率可达6%。感染也至少占植入物总失效的14%。患有人工关节感染的患者将遭受进行性关节疼痛，并且具有显著高水平的发病率和死亡率。通过抗生素预防感染是一种方法，但必要的长期暴露可能导致抗生素耐药性。为植入物寻找新的抗感染解决方案已成为骨科手术团队的首要任务之一，包括UBC的团队。

This research project addresses a serious challenge in orthopaedic surgery: the prosthetic joint infections. Artificial joints have been extensively used to treat joint diseases such as osteoarthritis, with ~50,000 total hip and knee replacement procedures in Canada and over half a million in US annually. The overall infection rate could reach up to 2% for primary joint replacements, and up to 6% for knee revision procedures. Infection also accounts for at least 14% of the total implant failure. Patients having prosthetic joint infections would suffer from progressive joint pain and have significantly high levels of morbidity and mortality. Infection prevention through antibiotic prophylaxis is one approach but the necessary long term exposure can lead to antibiotic resistance. Seeking novel anti-infection solutions for implants has become one of the top priorities for orthopaedic surgery teams including the one at UBC.