Clinical and economic evaluation of the impact of methicillin resistance on prosthetic joint infections

Purpose: Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is unfortunately a costly process. In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of methicillin resistance on the cost of PJI compared to susceptible patients. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent primary hip or knee arthroplasty in our center between January 2012 and December 2021 and were diagnosed with staphylococcal PJI were included in this retrospective design study. Expenses incurred during hospitalization were divided into categories. Each expense was converted to dollars ($) at the annual average exchange rate. Results: A total of 55 patients were included in the study. There were 31 and 24 patients in the methicillin-resistant and susceptible groups, respectively. The methicillin-resistant group was significantly older than the susceptible group, other characteristics were similar. The cost in the methicillin-resistant group was $2055.7 ($676.0-$12620.0) and in the susceptible group was $1643.9 ($707.8-$10834.8). There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of surgical costs, antibiotic costs, blood center costs and radiology costs. Conclusion: According to our study, the treatment cost of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus PJI was 1.3 times higher than that of methicillin-susceptible.