Infection associated with the use of allograft bone from the north east Scotland Bone Bank

To assess the rate of infection associated with use of banked allograft bone, the case records of patients receiving banked bone over one year were reviewed. The notes of patients undergoing autografting procedures during the same period were reviewed as controls. Eighty-two patients received 98 banked allograft femoral heads and there were 10 proven infections (12.2%). Fifty-seven patients had autograft procedures, with two cases of infection (3.5%). The results of bacteriological surveillance of grafts harvested during the same period were analysed; there was a discard rate due to bacterial contamination of 1.3%, and two patients received three contaminated grafts, one of these patients suffering a postoperative infection. The failure rate of procedures was 50% where there was postoperative infection and 4.2% where there was none. Procedures using banked allograft bone have a substantial infection risk, and this is associated with a much higher rate of failure of the procedure. Prospective audit of allograft use should be applied to reduce this risk.