Antibiotic bone cement for the treatment of pseudomonas aeruginosa in joint arthroplasty: Comparison of tobramycin and gentamicin‐loaded cements

One hundred clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were collected from 22 medical centers throughout Europe and were challenged with two aminoglycoside‐loaded bone cements, employing a modified in vitro Kirby–Bauer susceptibility model. The results of this study show that Simplex® P with tobramycin exhibits antibacterial activity against 98% of the strains tested, compared to 93% for Palacos with gentamicin. Additionally, for strains that were susceptible to the antibiotic bone cement formulations, the average zone of inhibition produced around the tobramycin‐loaded cement disks was approximately 25% greater than that seen around the gentamicin‐loaded cement disks. This difference was statistically significant ( p ≪ 0.01). Tobramycin‐loaded bone cement is therefore the preferred formulation when addressing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in septic joint arthroplasty. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 64B: 94–98, 2003