WHITE 8

Hip fractures are serious injuries which mostly occur in older patients. In the UK there are ~60,000 hip fractures every year and it is a potentially catastrophic event; approximately 30% of patients will die during the first year following this injury and those that survive will have a significant reduction in their quality of life. The most common type of hip fracture is treated with a partial hip replacement or hemi-arthroplasty. The hemiarthroplasty can be fixed to the patient’s thigh bone with or without the use of ‘bone cement’, however a high percentage of these are fixed with cement. When fixing a broken hip with hemi-arthroplasty, a small percentage of patients experience Surgical Site Infection (SSI), a potentially catastrophic post-operative complication. In order to reduce the risk of infection, patients are given antibiotics. Antibiotics can also be added to the bone cement to help reduce the risk of infection. This trial aims to compare two different antibiotic-loaded bone cement mixtures used to hold a hemi-arthroplasty implant in place. The results of this trial should tell us if there is any difference in the rate of deep infection in patients when one of the two bone cement mixtures is used to hold their hemi-arthroplasty implant in place. The information gained will help patients and their doctors make more informed decisions about the best way to reduce the risk of infection in this type of surgery.