The Mursa Protocol: A Novel Multimodal Antiseptic-Based DAIR Strategy for Early Hip Periprosthetic Joint Infection

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Abstract
Background: Debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention (DAIR) is an established treatment for early periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) following hip arthroplasty; however, reported success rates remain highly variable, particularly in patients with significant comorbidities, fracture-related arthroplasty, or resistant microorganisms. Augmentation of standard DAIR with structured local antimicrobial strategies may improve infection control but remains insufficiently standardized and evaluated. Methods: This retrospective single-center case series evaluated outcomes of a standardized multimodal DAIR-based strategy, the Mursa protocol, in 16 consecutive patients treated for early hip PJI between 2022 and 2025. PJI was diagnosed according to European Bone and Joint Infection Society criteria. The treatment included radical surgical debridement and exchange of mobile components with sequential intraoperative antiseptic microdebridement using povidone–iodine and hypochlorous/hypochlorite solution, followed by postoperative drain-based local antimicrobial irrigation and systemic antibiotic therapy. Treatment success was defined as sustained infection eradication with implant retention, absence of clinical and radiological signs of infection, no requirement for long-term suppressive antibiotics, and no infection-related mortality at a minimum one-year follow-up. Results: The cohort was clinically complex, with a predominance of arthroplasty procedures performed for fracture-related indications (11/16), a high comorbidity burden (median Charlson Comorbidity Index 5), revision arthroplasty in four patients, and a high rate of resistant or polymicrobial infections. At final follow-up, 15 of 16 patients (93.8%) achieved treatment success. One patient required implant removal due to persistent polymicrobial infection. No irrigation-related complications, wound-healing problems, or clinically relevant systemic toxicity were observed. Conclusions: In this high-risk cohort, a structured multimodal DAIR protocol incorporating sequential antiseptic microdebridement and postoperative local antimicrobial irrigation was feasible, safe, and associated with encouraging infection control. However, these findings should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating, and further prospective comparative studies are required to validate the protocol.

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