Does Cement Viscosity Impact Antibiotic Elution and In Vitro Efficacy Against Common Prosthetic Joint Infection Pathogens?

This in vitro study suggests that a surgeon may choose to use Palacos medium-viscosity ALBC (PMV+G) in total joint applications without impacting the in vitro antibiotic elution properties compared with Palacos high-viscosity ALBC (PR+G), and that both the medium- and high-viscosity formulations of ALBC from Palacos may have improved activity against three of four common PJI pathogens compared with Simplex low-viscosity ALBC (SP+T). However, more related research is needed to determine the in vivo activity of these ALBC products and the overall efficacy of routine use of ALBC in general.