Antibiotics Are Not The Answer! Journal Of Bone And Joint Surgery

Main Category: Dentistry
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 03 Jul 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Research published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery - British Volume (JBJS-Br), shows that there is 'no evidence to link prosthetic joint infections to dental procedures' and that the money currently being spent on preventative antibiotics would be better spent on 'high-quality dental care'.

As the NHS celebrates its 60th anniversary questions are being raised regarding its capacity to continue in the future with ever increasing costs. The drive for economy has been ramped up in recent months with initiatives such as those to increase the use of generic statins and the DoH NeLM campaign to reduce the over-use of antibiotics in the community.

JBJS-Br is proud to have published research this week that for the first time proves there is no evidence of a link between infections in joint replacements and dental infections. Therefore, this shows that the use of preventative antibiotic prophylaxis is unnecessary for dental patients who have had joint replacement surgery.

The annotation conducted a thorough review of relevant literature published in English, German and French from the PubMed database and concluded that 'prophylactic antibiotics are not required before a dental intervention in patients with artificial joints'. The Editorial published alongside the paper sets out what change in medical policy is needed:

'The continued use of antibiotics would be expensive, contribute to an increase in antibacterial resistance, lead to increased morbidity as a result of adverse side-effects…and increase the risk of death. It is clear that better oral hygiene is the answer rather than the administration of antibiotics.'

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Notes

- The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery - British Volume is a world leading orthopaedics journal with an Impact Factor of 1.868

- JBJS-Br publishes twelve issues a year of high-quality, peer-reviewed research, overseen by an international editorial board led by Editor James Scott

- The Journal was first published in 1948 by The British Editorial Society of Bone and Joint Surgery, a registered charity (No. 209299), with the object of the advancement and improvement of education in orthopaedic surgery and allied branches of surgery and the diffusion of knowledge of new and improved methods of teaching and practicing orthopaedic surgery in all its branches

- You can find out more about the Journal at http://www.jbjs.org.uk

Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery