BJJ News
notes from the road
6th National Orthopaedic Infection Forum, 24 June 2015
D. A. George R. Morgan-Jones
School of Oriental & African Studies, London, UK
Fig. 1 Best poster winner: Dr Rana Mehdi receiving her prize from Prof Peter Thomas.
he 6th National Orthopaedic Infection Forum (NOIF) was held in London on 24 June 2015. Over the last six years, NOIF has become a staple in the calendar, offering a forum for debate, controversy and the sharing of experiences across specialities from those, nationally and internationally, who struggle to manage that most difficult of orthopaedic problems: infection. This year the faculty represented America, Italy, Pakistan and the UK. The meeting was aimed at orthopaedic surgeons and microbiologists, both trainees and consultants. The meeting was chaired by Mr Rhidian Morgan-Jones (Cardiff, UK), Dr Vanya Gant (UCH London, UK)
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Fig. 2 Faculty members (from lef t); Dr Ed McPherson, Prof Fares Haddad, Mr James Murray, Dr Harriett Hughes, Dr Lorenzo Drago, Dr Vanya Gant , Mr Rhidian MorganJones, Mr Imran Ali Shah, and Prof Peter Thomas.
and Prof Fares Haddad (UCH London, UK). Dr Vanya Gant began the meeting with an enthralling insight into what is currently possible through genomics and advanced computing using nextgeneration sequencing to identify organisms, both known and unknown. 1 This view of the future was wisely tempered by remembering Louis Pasteur’s comments on the importance of the host. Dr Lorenzo Drago (Galliano Institute, Milan) complemented Dr Gant’s lecture by discussing current diagnostic dilemmas and introducing a new, soon to be available tissuesampling bag to minimise contamination and increase microbial yield. 2 The second section looked at novel
antimicrobial therapies. Mr James Murray (Bristol) discussed the potentiation of antibiotics by the addition of bupivacaine, a local anaesthetic which helps to lower pH. 3 Mr Rhidian MorganJones (Cardiff, UK) presented his clinical experience of using acetic acid as part of his defined debridement protocol and the early use of Surgihoney® as a novel antimicrobial coating in the salvage of infected total knee arthroplasties. 4 Dr Lorenzo Drago returned to the podium to discuss the use of bioactive glass as both an antimicrobial and antibiofilm agent. 5 Interestingly, bioactive glass raises the pH in contrast to the acetic acid and bupivicaine discussed by the previous speakers. This highlights the possibility that a changing pH in
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