Irrigation and Debridement of a Septic Hip
Frances A. Farley
A septic hip in a child requires emergent drainage. It should be distinguished from other pathologic hip conditions in a child by history, physical exam, a hip ultrasound, and laboratory data (1). Recent publications support an algorithmic approach to the evaluation of a limping child to accurately distinguish a child with a septic hip from a child with toxic or transient synovitis. Kocher noted four risk factors—refusal to walk, fever, elevated white blood cell count (greater than 12,000 mm3), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) above 40 mm/h—and validated these risk factors in a subsequent report (2). However, other centers have found that these four factors may not have as high a predictive value in determining a septic hip as was originally thought (3). The finding of a C-reactive protein (CRP) level above 1.0 is highly suggestive of infection as well (4).
INDICATIONS/CONTRAINDICATIONS
A child with a history of fever who has an irritable hip is the classic presentation of a septic hip and requires a hip ultrasound. If there is greater than 2 mL of fluid in the hip, the hip is tapped under ultrasound guidance through an anterior or medial approach. The fluid is sent to the laboratory, where a cell count, Gram stain, and culture are obtained. If the fluid appears as pus, the child is taken to the operating room at once for drainage. If the fluid appears purulent or has a white cell count of greater than 100,000 or a positive Gram stain or if there is a positive culture, drainage of the hip joint is required. Cell counts between 40,000 and 100,000 may require drainage, depending on the clinical picture and other laboratory findings, particularly the ESR and CRP values.
SURGICAL PROCEDURE
A septic hip in a child is preferably drained through an anterior approach. The superficial dissection is between the sartorius muscle, supplied by the femoral nerve, and the tensor fascia femoris muscle, supplied by the superficial gluteal nerve. The deep dissection is between the rectus femoris muscle, supplied by the femoral nerve, and the gluteus medius muscle, supplied by the superficial gluteal nerve.
A time-out, or surgical pause, is taken prior to anesthesia and again prior to the incision. Prior to anesthesia, the surgeon marks the affected leg with a felt-tip pen to reduce the risk of wrong site surgery. The child is placed supine on a radiolucent operating table. A bump is placed under the affected hip to facilitate exposure. The child’s affected leg is prepped and draped free in the usual sterile fashion.
A bikini incision is made one finger’s breadth below the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS), extending 2 cm lateral and medial from the anterior superior iliac spine. The skin and soft tissues are sharply dissected with a knife. Scissors are used to bluntly dissect to identify the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, which lies in the interval between the sartorius and the tensor fascia femoris muscles
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